Interest in passing stablecoin legislation grows, but regulatory uncertainty remains
Optimism that stablecoin legislation will pass is met with some skepticism.
In the past two weeks, a new bill has been introduced to parliament. senate On Wednesday, House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said she and Chairman Patrick McHenry were going “to secure a stablecoin bill in the short term.”
“I want you to know that Patrick McHenry and I have been working very well together. We’ve been working on this for 22 months,” Waters said. bloomberg. “We’ve put together a bill with a few amendments to help bring everyone together.”
McHenry and Waters are preparing a stablecoin bill that was introduced last summer in the Republican-led House Financial Services Committee. At the time, Waters called the bill “Due to “serious problems” supply This allows state regulators to approve the issuance of stablecoins without the involvement of the Federal Reserve.
It’s hard to ignore optimism, but Cody Carbone said: Vice President of Policy, Digital Chamber of Commerce, In an interview with The Block, he said there are still unresolved difficulties about who should be the primary regulator of stablecoin issuers.
“This has always been a hang-up and I haven’t seen anything to show me that they’ve fixed it,” Carbone said.
McHenry and Waters’ office did not respond to a request for comment on whether it had resolved state and federal regulatory and oversight issues.
“The bottom line is, I don’t know what the path is until we see the problem resolved. They can tell me, ‘Hey, we’re 95% there,’ but if that 5% is still like that, then on the federal issue, I don’t think this is “I remain pessimistic about what’s going to happen moving forward,” Carbone added.
The Senate bill, introduced by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), has the following provisions: “A federal and state regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers that preserves the dual banking system.” Specifically, the bill creates a cap that would allow “national trust companies to create and issue payment stablecoins up to $10 billion.”
“Maybe they see it as a solution and a compromise, but I’ve never heard anything from McHenry say that’s what he wants to do,” Carbone said.
Attached to another bill for passage
Stablecoin notes are likely to be included in the upcoming Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization. FAA reauthorization is due May 10, but lawmakers may have more time due to the political urgency of responding to Iranian attacks on Israel, TD Cowen said. memo April 15th.
Carbone said there is a 35% chance that the FAA reauthorization will include a stablecoin bill.
“I don’t know if I’m saying this with my heart or my head,” Carbon said. “I want it to pass and I want them to be able to move forward and I want there to be a regulatory framework here because it seems like such low-hanging fruit.”
Otherwise, after election season, stablecoin legislation could be attached to year-end legislation such as the National Defense Authorization Act or part of a legislative package that includes legislation allowing financial institutions to serve the marijuana industry.
“It gets really, really hard,” Carbone said. “I couldn’t wait for the stablecoin bill to pass, but I’m having a hard time figuring out what the path is.”
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