In an interview with regional news source The Washington Examiner, Republican Senator from Wyoming and member of the Senate Banking Committee Cynthia Lummis has reportedly outlined her plan to introduce a comprehensive crypto bill which will cover how cryptocurrencies are taxed and categorized as well as consumer protections.
In addition, Lummis’ bill would create a new government agency responsible for digital asset regulation.
Lummis’ office did not respond to The Washington Examiner’s request for comments on the upcoming bill. Other pro-bitcoin politicians, including U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard have submitted pro-bitcoin bills in the past year intended to ease cryptocurrency regulatory compliance burdens on blockchain startups and cryptocurrency exchanges.
Given that the US Congress has begun to focus on developing cryptocurrency regulations, it is highly likely that Lummis’ bill will be given due consideration by lawmakers and regulators alike. If approved, this could mark an important development for the crypto sector as the U.S. tends to play a leading role in global financial regulation.
As of March 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump has not signed any bills related to cryptocurrency regulation or development into law. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget provides Congress with a list of all pending legislation before the president takes action on them; the office currently has no mention of digital asset or blockchain-related bills that have been sent to the executive office by members of Congress.
Instead, there are two bills which currently vetoed at the committee stage under consideration; the “Follow The Money Act” aims to establish a task force focused on digital currency laundering, while the “Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Counterfeiting Act”, originally introduced in 2001, has been amended to include several references to cryptocurrency.