The U.S. House of Representatives announces a draft bill regulating the digital asset market, promising legal transparency, investor protection, and reinforcing America's leading position.
The U.S. political landscape has just witnessed an important move in the process of legal standardization for cryptocurrencies as the House Financial Services Committee officially announced a new draft bill on digital assets on May 5. This is seen as a major historical step aimed at establishing a comprehensive legal framework for the rapidly growing crypto market in the United States.
The new legal framework for the digital asset era
The draft bill, introduced with the support of a group of congressional leaders including Chairman of the Committee French Hill, Chairman of the Agriculture Committee G.T. Thompson, along with Subcommittee Chairs Bryan Steil and Dusty Johnson, is the result of a long bipartisan effort to create a favorable legal environment for the digital asset market.
'We have made historic progress in building bipartisan and bicameral consensus to form an effective legal framework for digital assets,' Chairman Hill remarked. He emphasized that this draft 'provides the necessary clarity for the digital asset ecosystem by protecting consumers and preserving the long-term integrity of the digital asset market in the U.S.'
Reflecting the strategic vision of the U.S. in the global financial technology race, Subcommittee Chairman Steil stated: 'The golden age of digital assets has arrived, and the House of Representatives is leading this process.' He affirmed that the goal of the bill is to 'keep America at the forefront of financial innovation and global competition, while protecting consumers from fraud.'
According to the analysis of Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Asset Research at Vaneck, this draft brings a 'significant upgrade' compared to previous proposals. A key breakthrough of the draft is the removal of income and asset thresholds for retail investors, as well as the abolishment of stringent requirements for professional investors and suitability criteria.
The draft also introduces a 'decentralization test' with high transparency requirements regarding ownership information, especially for individuals/entities holding over 10% control when the project is still centralized. Non-custodial DeFi protocols that do not interfere with user decisions will be exempt from many complex regulations.
Another noteworthy point is that the draft clearly defines stablecoins but does not classify them as securities, while establishing a process for joint regulation between the SEC and CFTC, addressing the issue of overlapping jurisdiction between regulatory agencies.
Justin Slaughter, Vice President for Legal Affairs at Paradigm, assesses the draft as 'a progressive adjusted version' compared to previous proposals, with significant improvements in oversight processes and the roadmap for recognizing decentralization. He noted: 'Overall, this draft continues to position the CFTC as the primary regulatory agency for crypto, while still maintaining the SEC's authority until the network achieves decentralization.'
The inter-subcommittee hearing is expected to take place on May 6, opening up opportunities for deeper discussions about these new regulations and their impact on the future of the digital asset market in the U.S.