The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (“FIT 21”) has recently made headlines. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the bill to regulate digital asset markets with a 279-136 vote, gaining bipartisan support.
FIT21 represents the first major crypto bill to pass a chamber of Congress. The next step is the U.S. Senate, whose fate is uncertain due to the lack of a corresponding bill and unclear support. Also, the U.S. lags behind other countries in crypto regulation, and despite Wednesday's victory, full implementation still needs to be a long way off.
Amid all the talks around FIT21, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong shared his thoughts on X (formerly Twitter), describing the vote on the FIT21 bill in the House of Representatives as "historic." He also expressed hope that this would finally establish clear regulations for crypto, should the bill become law.
“Americans want to know their representatives are protecting their rights to use crypto, creating clear rules to protect consumers, and won't let the lack of clarity be weaponized by a few activists in the administration trying to unlawfully kill an industry,” wrote Armstrong.
Not to mention, Coinbase has consistently advocated for clearer U.S. digital asset regulations. With time, the advocacy has been further pushed forward because the cryptocurrency exchange was sued in June 2023 by the SEC for allegedly violating securities laws. This followed a Wells notice issued in March 2023.
Additionally, what’s intriguing in this whole saga is that SEC Chair Gary Gensler isn’t particularly pleased with FIT21. On Wednesday, Gensler released a statement expressing his concern that FIT21 would create new regulatory gaps and undermine decades of precedent regarding the oversight of investment contracts, putting investors and capital markets at immeasurable risk.
Edited by Harshajit Sarmah
