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FIT21 passed overwhelmingly at the House, but it remains stalled at Senate. Will it still be delivered this year? Jernej Furman/flickr.com

KEY POINTS

  • Emmer said it's possible for FIT21 to be delivered this year if a year-end spending bill comes up
  • FIT21 seeks to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets and provide clarity
  • The GOP House member also blasted Gensler, whom Emmer said has united the blue and red parties against himself

This year has been significant for cryptocurrency legislation in the United States, with two bills consecutively passed by the House of Representatives, one of them, FIT21, a bill that could finally establish a regulatory framework for the digital assets industry.

Following overwhelming support from Democrats – an occurrence that raised hopes for the sector to finally see crypto becoming a bipartisan matter – the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act was stalled at Senate.

On Monday, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., expressed optimism that the bill can be delivered this year.

Year-End Spending Bill May Bring Up FIT21

In an interview Monday on the first day of the Messari Mainnet conference in New York, Emmer told Decrypt that FIT21 may be passed into law at the end of 2024.

"I think that bill – at the end of the year, if there's an end of the year spending bill – maybe some parts of that bill end up in the final deal," he said.

Emmer's comments regarding the stalled bill marks the first positive news about the proposed legislation after U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler expressed opposition to the bill's passage.

What Does FIT21 Want to Accomplish?

The bill seeks to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets, and provides some rules as to how the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) should regulate the emerging sector.

For one, the bill states that the CFTC "must regulate a digital asset as a commodity if the blockchain, or digital ledger, on which it runs is functional and decentralized." Furthermore, the bill states that the SEC "must regulate a digital asset as a security if its associated blockchain is functional but not decentralized." Unlike with CFTC-related mandates, the proposed legislation "establishes certain exceptions to SEC regulation for digital assets."

Notably, the bill "provides the CFTC with exclusive regulatory authority over cash or spot markets for digital commodities." Such a provision can finally provide more clarity about which financial regulator is actually responsible for cash or digital spot markets.

As per the bill, the CFTC and SEC should collaborate on defining terms "and exempt dually registered exchanges from duplicative rules."

Emmer Targets Gensler Again

Aside from discussing some crypto legislation, Emmer also didn't pass up the chance to call out Gensler as he did during a heated speech at a House Financial Services Hearing last week, wherein he blasted the SEC Chair for his hostile approach toward crypto regulation.

According to Messari Crypto research analyst Dylan Bane, Emmer said Monday at the conference that somebody has "to keep calling him [Gensler] out." He did acknowledge that despite Gensler's war on crypto, he did do something out of the ordinary. "He's united both Republicans and Democrats against him."

Indeed, during last week's Congress hearing, some Democratic representatives grilled Gensler, including Rep. Wiley Nickel of North Carolina and Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York.

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