Next House committee chair reintroduces bill on crypto innovation

Published at: Dec. 19, 2022

North Carolina Representative Patrick McHenry, the current ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee and chair starting in January, has reintroduced legislation aimed at creating innovation offices within government agencies dealing with financial services.

In a Dec. 19 announcement, McHenry said he had reintroduced the Financial Services Innovation Act — a bill he previously pushed in 2016 and 2019. The legislation was aimed at creating offices within existing federal financial institutions that could help innovators — including those dealing with crypto and blockchain — a path towards regulatory clarity in the United States.

According to McHenry, companies could apply for an “enforceable compliance agreement” with the offices at agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission that would allow for a legal path forward without “out-of-date or unduly burdensome” regulations. He suggested the legislation had been modelled on North Carolina’s regulatory sandbox program.

“It’s critical for our regulatory process to work with financial innovation, instead of against it,” said McHenry. “My legislation will help financial institutions and entrepreneurs get innovative products and services to market sooner, while maintaining critical consumer protection safeguards [...] Committee Republicans will continue to work toward an up-to-date regulatory framework that gives fintech firms clear rules of the road for success.”

I'm proud to reintroduce my bill to help spur financial innovation and inclusion. The Financial Services Innovation Act follows the same model as North Carolina's successful regulatory sandbox program. Read more https://t.co/g4hpOLzGAi

— Patrick McHenry (@PatrickMcHenry) December 19, 2022

Other federal agencies including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have already announced they planned to establish innovation offices with a focus on fintech. The SEC launched a Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology, or FinHub, in 2018, with the center becoming an independent office in 2020. The CFTC’s fintech research unit LabCFTC made a similar move in 2019.

Related: New House Financial Services Committee chair wants to delay crypto tax changes

California Representative Maxine Waters currently chairs the House Financial Services Committee, but McHenry will take over in January following Republican lawmakers winning majority control by 222 to 213 in the House of Representatives. Under Waters and McHenry, the House committee has made many bipartisan efforts in addressing the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and potential actions against former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

Tags
Regulation
United States
Cryptocurrencies
Law
Congress
Related Posts
Crypto, Congress and the Commission: What’s next for the ‘Wild West’?
The entire cryptocurrency industry is waking up to a new reality. Politicians and regulators have decided to wade into the space, which had flown mainly under their radar until now. A House committee chair is launching a working group; the Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking new authorities to regulate digital assets as securities; and the Senate-passed infrastructure bill includes $28 billion in tax revenues from crypto transactions. This last handful of weeks has arguably seen more regulatory activity around digital currencies since the name Satoshi Nakamoto first entered the popular lexicon. Anyone whose business deals in this asset class …
Bitcoin / Aug. 28, 2021
Law Decoded: Three regulatory trends of 2021, Dec. 20–27
It is that time of the year: Singular events must be abandoned in favor of end-of-year, big-picture narratives and yearly lessons learned. As many governments across the globe finally had to face the rapidly mainstreaming realm of digital finance, the year is packed with developments in crypto policy and regulation that are impossible to fit into a neat little summary. However, it is possible to try and distill several major trends that have come to the fore during the past 12 months, and that will keep shaping the relationship among societies, state power and the crypto space as we roll …
Regulation / Dec. 27, 2021
The crypto industry can trust Cynthia Lummis to get regulation right
As the world waits to see America’s take on cryptocurrency regulation, crypto enthusiasts should keep one thing in mind: The industry can trust Senator Cynthia Lummis. Her proposal with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, which we’ve all been waiting for action on, is bipartisan in nature. We’re still awaiting the final details, but things have slowed to a crawl with the November elections around the corner. United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler has moved forward with commentary that suggests the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will take a major role in the oversight of Bitcoin (BTC), which, in and of …
Regulation / Sept. 19, 2022
'Time is not on our side' to provide regulatory clarity on crypto, says US lawmaker
New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer said that United States lawmakers needed to pass legislation clarifying regulators’ role over crypto or risk companies taking their business abroad. Following a roundtable discussion on Sept. 27 with Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Rostin Behnam and many industry leaders, Gottheimer said some of the crypto bills proposed by members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate were “building blocks” aimed at achieving regulatory clarity. Though saying he was “bullish” on the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, Gottheimer suggested that the bill — aimed to give the CFTC greater authority over the crypto spot …
Regulation / Sept. 27, 2022
Senate Banking Committee's priorities for new Congress include crypto: Report
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, the Republican ranking member on the United States Senate Banking Committee, reportedly plans to develop “a bipartisan regulatory framework" for cryptocurrencies. According to a Feb. 2 report from Politico, Scott included the crypto framework as one of his priorities for the 118th Congress. He reportedly was skeptical of some aspects of crypto, alluding to the collapse of exchanges like FTX — "high-profile failures resulted in lost consumer assets" — and potential uses for illicit finance. Scott recently took over the ranking member position from former Senator Pat Toomey, who served out his term without seeking …
Regulation / Feb. 2, 2023