U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) introduced a bill on June 7 that would create a regulatory system for digital assets.
The Responsible Financial Innovation Act would create a firm standard to determine whether digital assets are commodities or securities. Under the bill, digital asset spot markets would be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The bill would establish an optional framework for banks and credit unions to issue payment stablecoins and create a special depository institution charter under state law and the National Bank Act to issue payment stablecoins.
The bill requires a study be undertaken on digital asset energy consumption due to environmental concerns and directs regulators to study the potential of crypto being used for illicit activities. The legislation calls for guardrails to prevent digital assets from being used to avoid sanctions, launder money and finance terrorism. The bill allows a taxpayer to deduct up to $200 of gross income for use of virtual currency to pay goods and services, under specific conditions.
Gillibrand serves on the Agriculture Committee, which has oversight over the CFTC. Lummis serves on the Banking Committee, which oversees the securities-regulating U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “The United States is the global financial leader, and to ensure the next generation of Americans enjoys greater opportunity, it is critical to integrate digital assets into existing law and to harness the efficiency and transparency of this asset class while addressing risk,” Lummis said.
The American Bankers Association expressed concern about the bill, saying it “would effectively create a parallel supervisory and regulatory structure that holds non-bank firms to lesser standards than banks, and therefore offers their customers and our financial system fewer protections.”