U.S. Representatives Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif) have reintroduced a bill to define how federal regulators should treat cryptocurrencies.
If signed into law, the Securities Clarity Act would treat digital assets as commodities, not securities, meaning startups would be free to sell and trade cryptocurrencies without having to worry about registering them as securities with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).
Emmer, the bill's lead sponsor and a member of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, said "regulatory uncertainty" has been harmful to the crypto industry's growth within the U.S.
"There has been an unreasonable approach by regulators as to how federal securities laws should be applied to transactions involving the sale of blockchain-based tokens, and this lack of clarity is hurting American innovation,” Emmer said.
Emmer originally introduced the bill in September 2020, with the support of then-Rep. Michael Conaway (R-Texas). The addition of Democratic co-sponsors is new and may aid the bill's passage through the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, though it's unclear whether the lawmaking body will do so at this time.
This bill has been endorsed by the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the Blockchain Association and Coin Center.
UPDATE (July 15, 2021, 17:04 UTC): Updated to clarify the bill was first introduced last year.