White House Faults Digital Asset Bill Due To Concerns About Customer Protection
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The White House doesn’t support the U.S. House of Representatives agreeing on a structured bill on the crypto market, but the president isn’t saying he’ll stop it from becoming law. This is good news for the crypto industry.
On Wednesday, the White House, led by President Joe Biden, stood against the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act. They’re worried that investors won’t be protected if it gets approved by Congress.
The White House Could Work With Congress For A New Bill
The bill also reveals that the White House might want to work with Congress to make new laws for the crypto markets. This is different from what Gary Gensler, head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has said before. He thinks the crypto industry doesn’t need more laws.
The Administration wants to team up with Congress to ensure a balanced and comprehensive rule for digital assets. They want to build on the existing rules to promote the responsible development of payment innovation and digital assets and help the United States stay strong in the world’s financial system.
The current version of H.R. 4763 needs more protections for investors and consumers who partake in certain transactions involving digital assets.
This is the second statement from the Administration in the past few weeks. Earlier, they revealed they might stop a bill that wanted to change a controversial SEC accounting rule. That bill easily passed in the House and Senate.
The statement was released a few hours after Gensler from the SEC put out his statement against the legislation. He stated that the bill would hurt the SEC’s work in keeping an eye on regular money markets and digital assets markets.
In his statement, the SEC chair stated that FIT21 would change the rules for companies issuing securities to follow the current federal law and Supreme Court decisions.
The Administration Seeks To Create A Balanced Regulatory Framework
Supporters of the bill argue that American law doesn’t permit cryptocurrency firms to function without the risk of being sued. This is a position Gensler criticized as these firms are attempting to avoid fulfilling their obligations to disclose information and meet other requirements for issuing securities.
The bill aims to make a new definition just for digital assets, to decide if they’re digital commodities or securities. It also decides which agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or the SEC, should be in charge of regulating the main market.
The Administration is excited to keep working with Congress to make rules for digital assets that keep investors and consumers safe while also letting new ideas grow. They said they’ll need more time to work together on this.