Washington is once again trying to establish clear rules for the crypto sector. An important bill has been at a standstill in the US Senate for months due to a heated debate about stablecoins. However, things now seem to be moving. According to Senator Tim Scott, a compromise could be on the table this week that will restart the debate.
New rules for crypto
This concerns the American crypto market structure bill, a law that should determine how regulators in the United States will regulate crypto. The law must determine, among other things, what role the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will have in the supervision of crypto.
According to proponents, clear regulations can provide greater certainty for companies and investors, which could fuel further growth of the crypto market in the United States.
Scott, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, spoke about that law yesterday during a meeting of crypto lobby group The Digital Chamber in Washington. He indicated that a new proposal may be made soon.
“I believe we’ll get our hands on the first proposal this week to look at,” Scott said. “If that happens before the end of the week, and I think it will, then we will be in a much better position.”
Battle for stablecoin returns
The biggest stumbling block revolves around so-called stablecoin yield. These are returns that crypto platforms offer to users who hold stablecoins.
Banks and financial lobby groups want this type of reward to be banned. According to them, it constitutes a loophole in previous regulations, the GENIUS Act, which had already banned returns from stablecoin issuers. They fear that savings could flow out of the traditional banking system if users move their money to crypto platforms.
Crypto companies actually oppose such a ban. They argue that banks mainly want to protect their own position and that the measure could inhibit innovation in the sector.
More bottlenecks in the law
According to Scott, the discussion about stablecoin returns is the most visible problem, but not the only one. Negotiations are also ongoing regarding rules surrounding DeFi, ethical guidelines and the question of which parties exactly fall under the law.
“Those issues seem smaller than the compensation and yield debate, but they are still important issues that we are working on,” Scott said.
The Senate is considering the bill through two committees. The Banking Committee oversees the SEC, while the Agriculture Committee is responsible for the CFTC.
In January, the Banking Committee postponed a planned discussion of the bill. The Agriculture Committee did forward its version of the bill to the Senate.
Source: https://newsbit.nl/amerikaanse-senaat-mogelijk-dicht-bij-doorbraak-in-vastgelopen-cryptowet/
