By
Temitope Olatunji
June 14th, 2024
While the Democrats joined the Republicans to approve the FIT21 bipartisan crypto bill, the White House has opposed it calling it a mixed opportunity.
In a historic milestone on Wednesday, May 22, the US House of Representatives passed the much-awaited FIT21 crypto market bill after securing solid bipartisan support.
A total of 71 Democratic members joined the Republicans in the House, with a 279-136 vote count for the Financial and Innovation Technology bill. As said, this bill is a milestone regulatory development for crypto, blockchain, and the Web3 industry. It will also be very helpful to the Web3 gaming companies that have raised billions of dollars from VC giants in the past.
The FIT21 crypto bill aims to reshape the US digital asset regulations in order to support innovations while simultaneously protecting consumers. Furthermore, this bill provides the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) a higher authority over digital assets deemed commodities. Commenting on the development, Ripple CLO Paul Grewal said:
“71 House Democrats. Let that sink in – 71 House Democrats just joined Republicans to defeat the scape goating, fear mongering and ignorance of fellow legislators who refused to legislate. Thank you Congress – FIT21 is real progress.”
The Crypto Council for Innovation emphasized that the recent vote marks the culmination of years of collaborative efforts between policymakers, their staff, and industry stakeholders. The objective is to enhance consumer protection and maintain the United States’ leadership in digital innovation.
Under the terms outlined in the bill, crypto firms and digital asset creators, including game developers, will now have a structured framework to determine whether their assets are classified as securities.
Furthermore, this clarity will help mitigate the ambiguity that previously triggered extensive litigation between the fast-moving startups and government regulatory bodies.
White House Opposes the FIT21 Crypto Bill
The White House has declared that it won’t support the Crypto Bill as reported by Politico. The Biden administration has expressed concerns that the proposed legislation “does not provide adequate safeguards for consumers and investors” participating in digital transactions.
Nevertheless, the administration did not directly indicate a veto threat against the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, a bill that is seen as advantageous for supporters of cryptocurrency.
“The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act is a missed opportunity to accomplish what should be a broadly shared goal – bringing some stability to an industry that has seen rampant speculation and major players collapse to nothing. Self-certification of compliance, regulatory carve-outs from proven and existing securities laws, and relaxed consumer protection guardrails simply do not meet the high standard of US leadership in the global financial system,” Democratic Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly said ahead of the vote on Wednesday.