The US House has passed pro-crypto legislation (FIT21) despite the SEC issuing a set of warnings. The Financial Innovation & Technology for the 21st Century Act has been cleared by a 279-136 tally, with favorable votes comprising 71 Democrats and 208 Republicans. It has yet to become law because it requires a clear passage from the Senate and the President’s signature. Passing pro-crypto legislation does bring optimism, but the chances are slim that it will gain pace in the remaining stages.
For one, Joe Biden must make a move against Gary Gensler. This would put him in a difficult position, as both sides have maintained that crypto introduces financial hazards. The approval of the Spot Bitcoin ETF took almost a decade, as there were concerns about market manipulation.
Making this Act a law would qualify cryptos as commodities rather than securities. The CFTC, an acronym for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, would inherit the right to regulatory oversight, marking a shift away from the SEC.
This development comes after Donald Trump said during his Presidential campaign that the current government had little idea about crypto. If elected, he would propose pro-crypto positions.
Tom Emmer, House Majority Whip, believes that passing the act opens the door for innovation in the sector of digital assets. He added that it would give entrepreneurs the clarity and assurance they have been looking for, further stating that it will ensure the next iteration of the web replicates their values.
The legislation’s passage comes a day after the White House released a statement saying that FIT21 does little to protect consumers’ interests. Gary Gensler, the SEC Chair, expressed concern that it would create new regulatory gaps and undermine decades of precedent about the oversight of investment contracts. In other words, it would do a great deal of harm to the market and investors.
While the actual impact is still unclear, crypto enthusiasts have started to express gratitude to representatives for their stance. Most of them are also bullish about the future of the crypto market. To reiterate, it becomes law only after the Senate clears the legislation and the President signs it.
The bull run is evident in two flagship cryptocurrencies: ETH and BTC. Both are rallying closer to their ATH. The price of Bitcoin stands at $69,569.43, indicating a slight decrease of 0.36% over the past 24 hours. It is up by 5.56% in the last 7 days at the time of writing this article. ETH has increased by 0.585 in the last 24 hours and jumped by 25.445 in the last 7 days at press time.
The only difference is that ETH has majorly jumped because of the prevailing optimism surrounding this week’s approval of Spot Ether ETF applications.