Republicans and Democrats Collaborate on Stablecoin Legislation in the House

Republicans and Democrats are likely to come to an agreement on the proposed bill to regulate stablecoins in the United States. 

Two senior members of the Financial Services Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, who drafted the bill to regulate stablecoins, said that Republicans are seeking a bill to regulate stablecoins state wise but it will not be major issue in advancing the bill ahead. 

The conservative party also agrees with Democrats on not creating  a “race to the bottom” for guardrails around fiat-backed digital currencies. 

Earlier, Democrats and Republicans were reportedly not agreeing on the proposed legislation. 

The House Financial Services Committee has changed its scheduled vote on legislation creating a regulatory framework for stablecoins and trading of cryptocurrencies in the Northern American country. 

U.S. representative for Arkansas of the Republican party, James French Hill, said they want to facilitate a state pathway for stablecoin regulations. “But to quote my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, we don’t want any race to the bottom,” he added. Hill made the comment at an online event with the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank.

Federal Reserve To Oversee Stablecoins Under Current Draft 

French Hill pointed out that in the current version of the draft bill the US Federal Reserve has the authority to enforce or review stablecoins regulations. 

Earlier, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in a testimony against the US Congress said that the central bank should play a role in regulating the payments tokens.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., a senior Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, also echoed similar sentiments during the same event. While acknowledging the state versus federal policy debate around stablecoin regulations, he said he doesn’t see this debate becoming a major hurdle to stop the proposed bill from becoming a law. 

Both the representatives hope that the comprehensive regulatory frameworks for stablecoins and crypto markets in the U.S would advance by the end of July. 

House Vote On Stablecoin Regulations Next Week

The House Financial Services Committee has rescheduled a vote on stablecoin and crypto legislation that was supposed to take place this week. 

The committee vote and debate on the said legislation is now set for July 26, as per a scheduling note sent to offices on the committee.

If the bill passes the vote from the House Financial Services Committee next week, the proposed legislation will move to the Senate where it will need an approval from the Democrats. For the bill to become the law, it will need acceptance from the Biden administration as well. 

The proposed bill allows the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) broader oversight over cryptocurrencies than the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), which could completely change how the industry is regulated in the country currently.