4 hurdles facing Senate crypto bill after key vote |
4 hurdles facing Senate crypto bill after key vote
A cryptocurrency regulation bill cleared a key early hurdle after advancing out of the Senate Banking Committee last week, but the legislation still faces several obstacles that could endanger its success on the Senate floor and beyond.
The Clarity Act, which aims to provide guidelines for financial regulators on how to regulate the crypto industry, cleared the Senate panel Thursday with the support of all GOP members and two Democrats.
Despite the bipartisan nature of the vote, the lack of support among several crypto-friendly Democrats, as well as outstanding concerns from influential outside groups, could prove difficult for the bill to overcome.
Here are four issues to watch in the coming weeks:
Democrats remain on the fence
The Clarity Act received support from two Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee after last-minute maneuvering to secure a bipartisan vote, but the measure will need at least eight Democratic votes on the floor.
While Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) voted for the bill at Thursday’s markup, both warned they could pull their support down the line.
“I want to be abundantly clear, my vote today is a vote to keep working in good faith,” Alsobrooks said. “It does not mean that I’ll be voting for the passage of the Clarity Act on the floor, because we still have so much work to do.”
They are part of a larger group of about a dozen crypto-friendly Democrats who have been negotiating with Republicans on crypto legislation since last year.
Several of these Democrats who sit on the committee — Sens. Mark Warner (Va.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Andy Kim (N.J.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.) — declined to support the bill.
“After the GENIUS Act, for me, I can’t take a handshake,” Blunt Rochester said Thursday. “I want the work to happen in committee.”
The GENIUS Act, which passed Congress last July, created a regulatory framework for one type of crypto known as stablecoins. Stablecoins are digital tokens that are tied to a more stable asset, like the U.S. dollar.
Blunt Rochester supported the GENIUS Act in the Senate Banking Committee last year but said she wanted to see further changes to........