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US lawmaker proposes to cut SEC chair Gary Gensler’s salary to $1

November 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The Financial Services and General Government bill proposes to drastically cut funding to the SEC and other government agencies.

A United States lawmaker wants to strip the Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler of his salary by paying him just $1 per year.

In a proposed amendment to the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG), Rep. Tim Burchett suggested that Gensler’s salary be brought down to $1, as part of wider proposal to defund the regulator.

First introduced on July 13 this year, the FSGG bill is a wide-ranging piece of legislation that aims to significantly reduce government spending across the board.

*Rep. Burchett's proposed amendment to the FSGG bill. Source: House Committee on Appropriations*

It’s estimated that Gensler earns north of $300,000 per year for his duties as head of the SEC.

Burchett wasn't the only lawmaker taking aim at the SEC, with the overall bill aimed at drastically cutting funding to government agencies.

While introducing the bill to the House Rules Committee on Nov. 6, Rep. Steve Womack outlined that the SEC, among other government agencies, had fallen prey to regulatory overreach and were becoming an undue financial burden on the government.

Womack said that the best course of action would be to defund the SEC, to help limit its regulatory “intrusiveness” while forcing the regulator to return focus to its core mission.

“Specifically, we turn off rulemakings at the Securities and Exchange Commission that lack proper cost-benefit analysis and aggregate impact analysis.”

“To be clear, the agencies under our jurisdiction perform important functions; however, many have strayed from their mandate and the results have been a true disservice to the American people,” Womack added.

We are on an unsustainable trajectory.

My bill reins in wasteful Washington spending to address our dire fiscal situation. https://t.co/lWgyvHknQQ
— Rep. Steve Womack (@rep_stevewomack) November 6, 2023

This isn’t the first time that Gensler and his agency have come under fire from U.S. politicians.

On June 12, United States Reps. Warren Davidson and Tom Emmer introduced the SEC Stabilization Act to the House of Representatives, with one of the bill's primary provisions being one that would remove Gary Gensler as chair of the SEC.

If passed, the bill would fire Gensler and redistribute the power of the agency between the SEC chair and commissioners. It would also create an executive director position and add a sixth commissioner to the agency to prevent any one political party from holding a majority sway.

Davidson and Emmer have long been vocal critics of the Gensler-led SEC, with Emmer calling the SEC Chair a “bad faith regulator” and accusing him of “blindly spraying the crypto community with enforcement actions while completely missing the truly bad actors.”

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‘Historic week’ as stablecoin, self-custody bills advance to House floor

July 28, 2023 Coin Telegraph

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The bills aim to create a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins and enshrine rights for crypto users to self-custody digital assets.

The House Financial Services Committee has advanced another two landmark crypto bills previously under consideration — with one aiming to better regulate stablecoin issuers and another seen as positive for crypto self-custody in the United States.

On July 28 the Committee said the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act and the Keep Your Coins Act were passed alongside five other finance-related bills.

Respectively the bills aim to provide regulations on the issuance of payment stablecoins and ensure crypto users are permitted to maintain custody of their assets in self-custodial wallets.

Coinbase chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad said in response to the bills passing that it's a "historic week" for crypto regulation.

Yet more congratulations to @PatrickMcHenry for getting the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act across the line with bipartisan support. It’s been a historic week, and a big step forward for consumer protection. https://t.co/7bRgAotAD6
— Faryar Shirzad (@faryarshirzad) July 28, 2023

On July 26, the Committee passed the Financial Innovation and Technology (FIT) for the 21st Century Act and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.

The bills respectively establish when crypto firms have to register with regulators and set guidelines for projects such as miners and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.

On July 27, the FIT for the 21st Century Act also passed the House Agriculture Committee.

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US crypto’s future could fall on these 4 digital asset bills

July 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

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The crypto bills could hand power to the purportedly more crypto-friendly CFTC and better define the SEC’s jurisdiction.

Since 2022, there have been at least 50 digital asset bills reportedly introduced to Congress, aiming to govern everything from stablecoins to the jurisdictions of United States regulators.

However, at least four of them are seen as potentially having a major impact on the industry (if passed) — given the attention from lawmakers and the crypto industry alike.

Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act

This bill introduced on July 20, aims to create a solid process for determining if a digital asset is a commodity or security and would clarify the jurisdictions of regulators.

Introduced by Republican members of the Agriculture and Financial Services Committees of the United States House, the bill would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) power over digital commodities and clarity on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) jurisdiction.

Introducing the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act. This bill establishes a regulatory framework for digital assets, protects consumers, fosters innovation, and positions America as a leader in finance and technology. #crypto https://t.co/0ihzY3MP0k
— House Committee on Agriculture (@HouseAgGOP) July 20, 2023

A process for crypto assets that have been labeled securities would also be given a path to be re-labeled as commodities — which could see some projects revived after being effectively shut down due to past legal decisions.

Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA)

A bill with similar goals — known as the Lummis-Gillibrand bill or the RFIA — aims to clarify the SEC and CFTC’s roles in crypto regulation. It also aims to give greater consumer protection by providing laws “to prevent another FTX-style event from occurring,” according to the bills fact sheet.

The crypto asset industry is here to stay.

Today, @SenGillibrand and I are reintroducing landmark legislation to create a federal regulatory framework that allows crypto businesses and investors to prosper here in America while protecting consumers from bad actors. pic.twitter.com/z2pr0evWt2
— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) July 12, 2023

Digital asset tax treatment clarity is also covered and the Federal Reserve would be ordered to process bank applications for master accounts from crypto firms “on an equitable basis.”

It would also see depository institutions be the only ones allowed to issue stablecoins, would make room for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) in the tax code and commission an advisory committee along with a slew of regular reports on the industry.

Digital Asset Market Structure Bill (DAMS)

Introduced on June 1, DAMS is another bill aiming to define the crypto-related roles of the SEC and CFTC and set a framework for the regulators to make determinations on if certain cryptocurrencies are securities or commodities.

The bill is getting some attention, on June 26 Representative Maxine Waters sent letters to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and SEC chair Gary Gensler asking them to weigh in on the bill.

#RELEASE: Ranking Member @RepMaxineWaters Calls on @USTreasury, @SECGov to Share Analysis on Republican Digital Assets Market Structure Bill | https://t.co/lloLm7Lho6 pic.twitter.com/qbPNMSRl5v
— U.S. House Committee on Financial Services (@FSCDems) June 26, 2023

Under the proposed bill, before a certain crypto token is given commodity status, it would have to undergo certification with the SEC to prove its adequately decentralized.

Crypto exchanges would be able to register with the SEC as an alternative trading system (ATS) and the regulator wouldn’t be able to deny registration due to a platform trading digital assets.

The crypto firm Prometheum is an SEC-registered ATS and can offer trading, clearing, settlement and custody of digital assets, although it's currently unclear what assets the SEC permits.

DAMS would clarify ATS rules and allow for digital commodities and stablecoins to be traded on ATS platforms and the SEC would be required to allow broker-dealers to custody cryptocurrencies if they meet requirements.

Digital Commodity Exchange Act (DCEA)

First introduced in September 2020, an updated version of the DCEA was last re-introduced in April 2022 adding that stablecoin providers could register as a “fixed-value digital commodity operator” inclusive of recording and reporting requirements.

The DCEA hands the CFTC the power to register and regulate spot exchanges which are brought under the same rules as other commodity exchanges.

1/ We’re proud to support the re-introduction of the Digital Commodity Exchange Act (DCEA). There is a growing consensus in Washington that federal oversight of digital asset spot markets is needed, and we believe that the DCEA sets forward an intelligent framework... https://t.co/U0RMMOKBe9
— Blockchain Association (@BlockchainAssn) April 28, 2022

Cryptocurrencies that are not considered securities are labelled digital commodities under the CFTC’s purview and the SEC would police crypto securities offerings.

Crypto project developers could also voluntarily register with the CFTC for submitting disclosures required to publicly trade and list their asset on an exchange.

Other bills

Many more crypto bills are floating through Congress with various success. Stablecoin regulatory proposals have come through the Stablecoin TRUST Act and the Stablecoin Innovation and Protection Act.

The descriptively titled Crypto Consumer Investor Protection Act and the Crypto Exchange Disclosure Act were introduced in December 2022 but haven’t seen much movement since.

The Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act was also introduced in Decemeber by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Roger Marshall would regulate crypto ATMs and ban financial firms from using crypto mixers. Warren vowed its reintroduction in February but that action is yet to happen.

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Rep. Tom Emmer mulls bringing back bill aimed at reducing crypto red tape

December 15, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act

Tom Emmer is considering reintroducing a bill that removes the requirement for entities to be registered as money transmitters if they don’t handle customer assets.

Crypto-friendly Congressman Tom Emmer is considering re-floating a bipartisan bill that would lift the requirement for certain crypto businesses and projects to register as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) in the wake of the FTX collapse.

The bill titled “Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act” was led by Republican Emmer and Democratic Congressman Darren Soto. It was initially tabled at the 117th congress on Aug. 17, 2021, but did not make it any further down the line.

Probably a good time to re-up my bipartisan Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.

The bill asserts that blockchain entities that never custody consumer funds are not money transmitters… providing necessary legal certainty to ensure the future of crypto reflects American values.
— Tom Emmer (@RepTomEmmer) December 14, 2022

Emmer may be liking his chances a bit more the second time around given the current climate in which the U.S. government is scrambling to get regulation off the ground to prevent another FTX-style disaster.

Tweeting on Dec. 15, Emmer noted that it's “probably a good time” to re-introduce the bill, adding that:

“The bill asserts that blockchain entities that never custody consumer funds are not money transmitters… providing necessary legal certainty to ensure the future of crypto reflects American values.”

The bill itself aims to set out guidelines that remove certain hurdles and requirements for “blockchain developers and service providers” such as miners, multi-signature service providers and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.

It was put forward in response to a June 2021 draft guidance from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that was pushing to expand the definition of virtual asset services providers (VASPs) to include “any provider that may develop or operate a DeFi platform, even if they have no interaction with users.”

While a number of U.S. politicians have been taking the liberty to attack crypto alongside the FTX collapse, during the House Financial Services Committee hearing this week, Emmer hasnotably praised the crypto community for using blockchain tech to uncover key info on the firm’s operations.

Bills, bills everywhere

On the other end of the political spectrum, crypto-skeptic Senator Elizabeth Warren has introduced the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022 on Dec. 14, alongside Senator Roger Marshall.

The bill essentially seeks to stop financial institutions from using privacy tools such as crypto mixers and mandate crypto firms to follow the same money-laundering rules as banks, a well as regulating crypto kiosks (ATMs).

It would also require miners, custodial and self-custodial wallet providers to implement know-your-customer (KYC) controls.

Senator Cynthia Lummis, a known hodler and Bitcoin proponent has of course criticized the bill, arguing that such KYC requirements won’t work within the context of crypto.

Requiring open source developers to build AML/KYC into node software and hardware wallets? That dog won’t hunt.
— Cynthia Lummis (@CynthiaMLummis) December 14, 2022

On Dec. 14, Lummis herself also outlined that she intends to re-introduce a bill that would hand over most of the authority of crypto to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as opposed to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which Warren among others are pushing for.

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crypto bill