US Senate is unlikely to vote on crypto bill this year, Lummis says

The bipartisan crypto bill by US Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand is unlikely to go to a vote this year, Lummis said on Tuesday.

According to the lawmaker, the crypto legislation might see a Senate vote in 2023, noting that the bill still has to go through various committees. 

But while the bill will likely not go to a vote in the next five months or so, the Wyoming senator highlighted the possibility of various aspects of it getting past committees within the year.

She told Bloomberg that crypto bill is “a big topic,” that covers a wide-ranging set of regulatory aspects. The lawmaker also noted that the majority of US senators are new to the bill, a likely reason for the long time it could take to go through the whole process.

Bill seeks more regulatory clarity

The crypto sector is keenly watching developments across the US regulatory space, with the Lummis-Gillibrand bill seen as a watershed moment for clarity in the regulation of crypto assets, including the highly-spotlighted stablecoin market.

Among the many key considerations in the bill is the clear demarcation of the regulatory boundaries for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

If it becomes law, the regulation of Bitcoin (BTC) – highlighted as a commodity across the industry, including by SEC Chair Gary Gensler – would fall under the purview of the CFTC.

Those cryptocurrencies deemed to be securities, as well as crypto exchanges and broker-dealers, would be regulated by the SEC. Gensler recently said the companies within the crypto industry need to offer more disclosures to protect investors.

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