Key Takeaways
- The bill establishes the Secretary as the principal presidential adviser on blockchain.
- Secretary’s main responsibilities includes policy development, research, and the promotion of blockchain tech.
In a major development, the United States House of Representatives has passed the Deploying American Blockchains Act of 2023.
The bill which directs the Secretary of Commerce, currently Gina Raimondo, to take necessary actions to promote the competitiveness of the United States in blockchain technology and other distributed ledger technologies was passed by a substantial margin of 334 to 79, It establishes the Secretary as the principal presidential adviser on blockchain. The Secretary’s new responsibilities include policy development, research, and the promotion of blockchain technology.
To assist in these efforts, the bill mandates the formation of an advisory committee. This committee will be comprised of representatives from government, industry, academia, and cultural sectors. The advisory committee is required to present an annual report to Congress, ensuring ongoing oversight and progress tracking.
The bill was introduced by Representatives Lisa Blunt Rochester and Larry Bucshon, neither of whom had a prior record on blockchain or crypto issues. On December 5, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce unanimously approved the bill. It has received endorsements from notable industry groups such as the Chamber of Digital Commerce and the Blockchain Association.
However, the bill faced opposition from several lawmakers, including crypto skeptics Sean Casten, Bill Foster, and Brad Sherman. Casten, Sherman, and Foster were lead sponsors of the Blockchain Integrity Act, introduced on May 7. This bill seeks to ban crypto mixing services for two years while the Treasury Department assesses their impact. The Blockchain Integrity Act has yet to come up for a vote.
On the same day the Deploying American Blockchains Act was passed, the House also approved two blockchain-related bills: the Consumer Safety Technology Act and the Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act. These bills now head to the Senate for consideration.
In a related move, Congress passed its first standalone crypto legislation last week. The bill aims to overturn the controversial SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121). U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis announced on social media that the Senate’s passage of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn SAB 121 is a significant victory for financial innovation. The CRA allows Congress to review and potentially overturn regulations issued by federal agencies.
SAB 121 mandates that entities holding crypto assets for users must record these as liabilities and corresponding assets at fair value on their balance sheets.
