Two more crypto bills in the US: Law Decoded, July 17-24

Last week saw two new legislative initiatives for the crypto industry in the United States.

Last week saw two new legislative initiatives for the crypto industry in the United States. Senator Jack Reed has sponsored a bipartisan bill that would strengthen Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations and sanctions for decentralized finance (DeFi). The bill would subject DeFi operations to the same requirements as “other financial firms, including centralized crypto trading platforms, casinos, and even pawnbrokers.”

Two major crypto lobby groups have criticized the legislation: Coin Center and the Blockchain Association. The former issued separate statements describing the legislation as a “messy”, “unworkable” and “unconstitutional” way to regulate DeFi. Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, echoed Coin Center's concerns and called the new legislation redundant. Smith said federal law enforcement agencies already have the tools and expertise to deal with this "relatively small but important issue."

Members of the Republican House Agriculture and Financial Services Committee introduced the Financial Innovation and Technology Act for the 21st Century. The bill gives the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jurisdiction over digital products, clarifies the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and creates a process for deemed-originated digital assets...