HFS Committee Leaders Urge Congress to Act on Digital Assets

House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill and Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee Chair Bryan Steil urged Congress to move quickly to enact legislation on digital assets.

In an article published on the Coindesk website, Chair Hill and Representative Steil pointed to the increasing adoption of digital assets, noting that 55% of American investors hold Bitcoin and over 40 million own some form of cryptocurrency. The lawmakers criticized the Biden-Harris Administration for what they described as "open[] hostility" and "abdication of responsibility" toward digital assets. They argued that, "products associated with 'crypto' or 'digital assets' were stonewalled and litigated into purgatory." As a result, they said that "the United States has fallen behind and others, including our adversaries, are developing products and systems that threaten the primacy of the dollar."

The lawmakers highlighted their current efforts to promote digital assets including: (i) the release of a discussion draft to establish a framework for the issuance of stablecoins and (ii) the launch of a Bicameral Working Group for Digital Assets. As congressional leaders in financial services, Mr. Hill and Mr. Steil set the following priorities for their legislative efforts: (i) establish a federal framework for stablecoins; (ii) provide clarity for token sales and distribution; (iii) create pathways for centralized token trading platforms; (iv) strengthen anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism measures; and (v) ensure fair competition.