By James Davis
Republican lawmakers are forming a new subcommittee to focus on digital assets, according to an announcement by Congressman Patrick McHenry on Friday. Moreover, Congressman French Hill will chair the subcommittee. Hill was also appointed as vice-chairman of the full committee.
The Subcommittee’s Functions
McHenry says that part of the subcommittee assignment is to provide federal regulators with rules that apply to the digital asset industry and establish policies that target underserved communities by promoting financial innovation.
In a statement, McHenry acknowledged that today there are massive technological developments and evolution in the financial sector. Therefore, the Congressman said it was their job as lawmakers to promote responsible FinTech innovations in the United States.
The subcommittee’s creation comes at a time when several crypto-relation legislation proposals have been tabled in the Senate. For example, Patrick Toomey, an ex-Republican Senator, introduced the Stablecoin Trust Act in the final days of his political career.
A part of Republican lawmakers has criticized how US regulators have been managing the digital assets industry. Recently, Congressman Tom Emmer called out Gary Gensler, the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, for what he termed as ‘regulating through an enforcement approach’.
House Financial Committee Prioritizes Crypto Regulation
Following his appointment as the chairman of the House Financial Committee last December, McHenry said the digital assets industry would be among the committee’s top priorities. The new chairman promised that the committee would establish an effective regulatory framework for the crypto industry.
After FTX collapsed, McHenry joined the group of lawmakers who argued that a proper regulatory framework would have prevented the crisis, which caused an industry contagion in the entire digital assets ecosystem and left several American investors counting losses.
At that time, McHenry said he spent years advocating for Congress to establish comprehensive regulatory policies for the digital assets industry, including crypto exchanges, to ensure United States citizens are well-protected.
McHenry also suggested planning a meeting with Binance to discuss its role in FTX’s downfall since the firm’s CEO Changpeng Zhao announced Binance’s plans to sell its FTT holdings a few days before the exchange collapsed and also pulled out on a deal to buy out FTX.