US House to vote on FIT21 bill before holiday weekend

Republican lawmakers in the United States House Financial Services Committee announced that the House of Representatives will vote on legislation clarifying the roles of financial regulators over digital assets sometime this week.

In a May 20 X post, House Republicans said the full chamber will vote on the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act “this week,” giving the bill a chance to become law. The legislation would clarify how the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulate digital assets.

The legislation has seen little movement since lawmakers passed the FIT21 bill out of the House Financial Services Committee in July 2023. In May, Committee Chair Patrick McHenry said the House Committee on Rules could clear the bill for a vote in the full chamber.

Several industry advocates and House members have already indicated support for the bill, which would be one of the few pieces of crypto-focused legislation to move through Congress this session. President Joe Biden is also expected to either veto or sign into law a joint resolution passed in May to overturn an SEC rule on how banks are expected to handle digital assets.

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The crypto advocacy groups Blockchain Association and Crypto Council for Innovation have both called on House leadership to support the passage of FIT21, the former saying the U.S. needed “pro-innovation and pro-consumer guardrails.” It’s unclear whether a majority of lawmakers will vote in favor of the bill. Republicans currently have a slim majority in the House, but 21 Democrats joined with them on May 8 to support the resolution nullifying the SEC accounting rule.

“While FIT21 is not a perfect bill (no bill is!), this is a critical and historic step toward establishing a federal regulatory framework for digital assets in the U.S.,” said Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Sheila Warren.

Politics could also factor in lawmakers’ choosing to vote yay or nay on FIT21. The 2024 U.S. elections have already started with many state primaries, and some lawmakers like Senator Elizabeth Warren have highlighted their approach to regulation and oversight of digital assets as Election Day approaches. Representative McHenry will also be voting on the bill, though he does not intend to run for reelection in November.

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