August is typically a slow month on Capitol Hill and in DC as legislators head back to their districts during a month-long recess. However, Members of Congress were still busy preparing for their fall agendas and responding to actions at the regulatory agencies.
Senate Banking Prepares for Crypto Legislation
Earlier this month, Senate Banking Chairman, Tim Scott, released a Request for Information (RFI) on his crypto market structure proposals and future legislation. Better Markets responded to the RFI, raising a number of key concerns that any crypto market structure legislation must address. The response to the RFI showed how the discussed draft legislation, if enacted, would severely harm and weaken traditional securities laws and create massive loopholes that would directly harm investors. Be sure to read our response here, and stay up to date on all things crypto here.
GENIUS Act Endangers Economic and Financial Security
Better Markets recently released a new analysis of the GENIUS Act, the legislation passed into law last month legitimizing ‘un’-stablecoins. This new fact sheet explains how the GENIUS Act will increase risk to financial security and undermine the banking systems that Main Street relies on to build the productive economy. We also discuss how ‘un’-stablecoins will impact the future of monetary policy. To make matters worse, this law now gives the crypto industry an aura of legitimacy, even as crypto remains largely unregulated, coupled with an administration that is constantly pulling back regulatory efforts to reign in the crypto industry. Be sure to read the full analysis, “The Crypto Stablecoin GENIUS Act Hurts All Americans by Undermining the Economy, Financial System, and Monetary Policy” here.
Congress Speaks Out on Agency Independence
On August 20th, Senate Banking Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on how to reform the Federal Reserve for the better without firing independent regulators. In the op-ed, Sen. Warren lays out her plan to bring greater transparency and accountability to the agency to better serve the American people. Sen. Warren argues that the Fed needs ethics reforms and a truly independent Inspector General, like most other federal agencies have. You can read the full op-ed here.
