Rare moments of bipartisanship cut through the heat and humidity of July in Washington, DC, during “Crypto Week,” as policymakers in Congress labelled last week.
Last week President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, making it the first digital asset-related legislation on the books in the US.
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act will create a regulatory framework for US-dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens, known as stablecoins. It received support from more than 100 Democrats in the US House of Representatives and 18 in the US Senate.
For substantial, policy-focused legislation, this is a welcome sight.
The House also passed its crypto market structure legislation, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Nicknamed the Clarity Act, it would establish a regulatory framework for digital commodities.
While it heads to the Senate for consideration, FIA shared its view with the Senate Committee on Agriculture two days prior when I testified at a hearing on federal oversight of digital commodities.
As I said in my testimony, the hearing comes at a time when the digital assets industry and its customers deserve a sound regulatory framework.
I stressed the importance of the US Securities and Exchange Commission having clear oversight of digital securities and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission having exclusive jurisdiction over digital commodities.
In particular, I noted the CFTC principles-based regulations, innovation-forward mission, robust customer protections, strong enforcement and effective cross-border framework.
In addition to these broad themes, I suggested the committee consider specific actions Congress should take in passing legislation related to digital commodities.
I highlighted the need for statutory language that instructs the CFTC and SEC to allow for cross margining between offsetting positions in their respective markets, and the importance of legislative language that instructs prudential regulators to recognize these offsetting risk positions through cross-product netting. These two steps would free up capacity for these growing markets and incentivize strong risk management.
I also advocated for legislative language that requires the CFTC to conduct a rulemaking on managing conflicts of interest when entities combine exchanges, clearinghouses, FCMs and trading arms all within the same legal structure.
It is an honor to testify and a privilege to represent FIA’s priorities before the US Congress. It also was the second time in two weeks I visited the US Capitol to advocate for the cleared derivatives industry.
One week prior to the hearing, FIA held its US legislative fly-in. Twenty members of our board had a number of great meetings, including with SEC Chair Paul Atkins and Commissioner Hester Peirce, Senate Ag Committee Chair John Boozman and Senator David McCormick, and senior officials from the US Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve Board and others.
We found a very business-friendly and open reception in our meetings. And, unsurprisingly, the topic of crypto recurred throughout them.
As we met with members of the Trump Administration, we shared our view on capital – both the Basel End Game and the ongoing need for cross-product netting. We also discussed allowing all CCPs to have access to Fed Accounts for overnight deposits and US Treasury clearing, among others.
In just two short weeks, FIA made our presence known by connecting with lawmakers and leaders in the executive branch.
As I said in a LinkedIn post about our fly-in, there is incredible value in meeting with policymakers – in person – to introduce ourselves and our industry while advocating for our priorities.
