Rep French Hill
GOP Rep. French Hill of Arkansas Rep French Hill Facebook Page

KEY POINTS

  • Hill said he is looking forward to working with Trump to deliver 'common-sense' policies
  • The Arkansas congressman has an A rating on Stand With Crypto
  • He recently criticized the alleged debanking of crypto leaders and firms under OCP 2

The House of Representatives' Steering Committee has elected Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., to become the next Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, drawing positive responses from some prominent names in the cryptocurrency industry.

Hill will be replacing outgoing Chair Patrick McHenry, who is known for his pro-crypto stance, is leaving Congress at the end of the year and is on the role for a term-limited period.

Hill Thanks Colleagues For The Trust

In a statement following his election into the role, Hill said he is "humbled" for having been chosen to lead the Committee as its next leader. He also thanked them for the trust and said he is looking forward to working alongside other Committee leaders starting in 2025.

He also expressed excitement for his future work with President-elect Donald Trump and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott "to bring common-sense economic policies" for the country's economic progress.

Is Hill Good For Crypto?

For starters, Hill has an A rating (very supportive) on nonprofit Stand With Crypto. He voted in favor of crypto-centric bills such as FIT21 and the House Joint Resolution that sought to overturn the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) infamous SAB 121 accounting bulletin.

Based on his comments around blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and his stance against CBDCs (central bank digital currencies), it appears Hill has been a supporter of the sector since early 2022.

That year, Hill said he understands the American people's concerns about CBDCs potentially being used by the government as a surveillance tool to look into the financial activity of citizens.

Following the shocking fall of former crypto exchange giant FTX, Hill called for "a bipartisan solution to defining digital assets, how they should be valued, and how their users should be protected."

His comments then suggested that he agreed with crypto firms demanding new regulations around digital assets and not relying on existing rules to regulate the emerging industry.

In 2023, he said he wants to make sure the U.S. is a center of innovation in fintech, blockchain, and distributed ledger technology (DLT).

He has repeatedly called out outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler for his leadership that led the Wall Street regulator to insist on "unreasonable mandates that negatively affect businesses and the crypto ecosystem."

Last month, he slammed the alleged Operation Choke Point 2.0 (OCP 2), which is said to have been a strategy by the Biden administration to coordinate with banks and regulators to "debank" crypto firms and crypto executives.

Crypto Figures React to Hill's Election

Many crypto users have congratulated Hill for getting the new leadership role, including influential figures in the crypto space such as Jayson Browder, the SVP of Government Affairs and Social Responsibility at Bitcoin miner MARA.

Other notable crypto figures who congratulated Hill were Tony Edward of the Thinking Crypto podcast, WSPN Payment CEO Austin Campbell, Electric Capital co-founder Avichal Garg, Lightspark CEO and co-founder David Marcus, Unchained podcast host Laura Shin, and many more.

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