#USHouseMarketStructureDraft

The US House of Representatives has been working on several initiatives to clarify the market structure for digital assets and housing markets. Here's an update on the current developments:

Digital Asset Market Structure

- The House Financial Services Committee and House Agriculture Committee have released a discussion draft of a bill to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets in the US.

- The bill aims to define the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in regulating digital assets.

- Key provisions include.

- *Decentralization Test*: A project is considered decentralized if no single party has unilateral control and no party holds more than 10% of the token supply.

- *SEC vs. CFTC Oversight*: The SEC will oversee digital assets that are considered securities, while the CFTC will regulate digital commodities and spot markets.

- *Investor Access*: The bill removes wealth and income restrictions for retail investors, allowing broader participation in digital asset markets.

- *Stablecoin Definitions*: Stablecoins are defined under the draft bill, but a separate stablecoin bill has faced resistance in the Senate.

Housing Market Structure

- Research by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia suggests that institutional investors played a crucial role in stabilizing housing markets during the Great Recession.

- The study found that corporate buyers ³:

- *Mitigated Price Declines*: Institutional investors helped reduce the drop in housing prices by providing rental homes and generating demand.

- *Lower Operating Costs*: Corporate buyers achieved economies of scale, reducing their operating costs and influencing housing market outcomes.

- The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) publishes a monthly report on national housing market indicators, providing insights into the current state of the housing market .