House Republicans Move to Establish Subcommittee on Crypto Regulation 

Following their takeover of the House of Representatives last week, Congressional Republicans are now looking to address the issue of cryptocurrency regulation directly, and their first step is establishing a subcommittee on the issue. 

Providing Rules for a Growing Space 

According to political news source Politico, Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) announced last week that he would be looking to create a Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion. The development comes following the forming of the new House Committee on Financial Services, with McHenry looking to add this to the other subcommittees under the new Committee umbrella. 

 In his speech announcing the subcommittee, Rep. McHenry explained that the entire process of committee structuring had been significantly flawed from the start. With the Financial Services Committee focusing more on issues related to individual sectors as opposed to the larger financial industry, McHenry argues that it can’t be quite as effective as it should be. 

With cryptocurrencies now part of the global financial industry, the Congressman believes this is a good time to include crypto regulation in Congress’ jurisdiction. 

Rep. French Hill (R-AR) will lead the new subcommittee on cryptocurrencies and act as its vice chairman. According to its formulating documents, it will provide rules to guide participants and regulators of the fledgling digital asset ecosystem and develop policies that will focus on reaching underserved communities with proper financial innovation. 

On his part, Hill explained that the current climate is seeing significant innovation in the financial sector. He believes Congress is expected to work bipartisanly to promote responsible growth while encouraging innovation in the fintech space. The objective is to ensure the market can flourish and grow while contributing its fair share to the American economy. 

A New Look for Congress

The announcement differs from Politico’s initial report, which claimed that Hill would serve as the new crypto subcommittee’s Chairman while he would be assisted by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH). Nevertheless, it marks a significant step in the right direction. 

This new legislative decision is one of the first moves to be made by House Republicans in the 118th Congress since the party took over the majority of the House on January 13. Lawmakers were left unable to adopt rules and pick committee members for four days as Republican infighting left the party unable to pick a Speaker of the House. 

However, after 15 rounds of voting, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) eventually took control, replacing Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). 

Interestingly, crypto industry members will also see how the lower chamber of Congress could treat crypto as the House will be looking to convene for another hearing on the collapse of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX. 

Following FTX’s implosion, the House held a hearing into the matter back in December. However, McHenry said a second hearing would be organized sometime this year. 

Whether or not this will mark a new dawn for Congressional crypto relations remains a mystery. The House is only one arm of government, and even if this newly formed subcommittee puts forth pro-crypto regulations, it would still need approval from the White House and the Democrat-controlled Senate.