AUSTIN, Texas — Rep. Patrick McHenry (R–N.C.), chair of the House Financial Services Committee, announced that the committee, along with the House Agriculture Committee, will work towards creating legislation for the crypto sector within the next two months. They will begin by holding joint public hearings starting in May.
Speaking at CoinDesk's Consensus 2023 event, McHenry expressed optimism about the possibility of President Joe Biden signing a crypto bill within the next 12 months. However, he acknowledged the challenges of legislating new concepts. The proposed bill will tackle securities and commodities regulations and address difficult issues on both sides.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), who participated in the same panel discussion, expressed her eagerness to collaborate with McHenry. She believes that the House of Representatives has a higher likelihood of passing legislation earlier than the Senate, and initiating the process in the House could improve the chances of success in the Senate.
Lummis, known as the Senate's "Crypto Queen," mentioned that a revised version of the bipartisan "Responsible Financial Innovation Act," which she introduced last year alongside Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), will be revealed within six to eight weeks. The updated bill is expected to include stronger national security and cybercrime provisions.
While the U.S. Congress has yet to pass comprehensive crypto legislation, the European Union has already approved the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) law. This puts the EU ahead in Web3 technology, as Rep. McHenry noted earlier. Lummis acknowledged that the U.S. is falling behind, with other jurisdictions such as Japan and the United Arab Emirates also moving toward crypto regulation, and Hong Kong and the UK revisiting their approaches to the sector.