US Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand Propose Legislation to Regulate Digital Assets
US Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand are set to propose a new bill today to regulate cryptocurrencies and other digital assets in the country.
Lummis and Kristen will reintroduce their Responsible Financial Innovation Act amid the ongoing debate about the future of digital asset regulation.
The latest digital assets bill will aim to classify most crypto assets as commodities similar to gold.
There is a lack of clarity in the industry anout which financial watchdog should oversee cryptocurrencies - US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Both regulators have come after crypto companies for breaking the laws supervised by these watchdogs. While Coinbase is being sued by the SEC, Binance is facing a lawsuit from the CFTC as well.
A person with knowledge of the proposed bill revealed that if the legislation is passed, it would force crypto exchanges to keep customers’ assets in third-party trusts. It would also stop exchanges from engaging in proprietary trading, Wired reported.
Proprietary trading is when exchanges trade funds on their own platform.
The legislation would also reportedly prohibit crypto lenders’ ability to finance crypto assets with collateral already pledged for different loans.
The Republican senator Cynthia Lummis said:
“It is critical to integrate digital assets into existing law and to harness the efficiency and transparency of this asset class while addressing risk… As this industry continues to grow, it is critical that Congress carefully crafts legislation that promotes innovation while protecting the consumer against bad actors.”
The pro-crypto senator from Wyoming confirmed that SEC and other agencies were consulted to make changes in
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