Wen Widespread Adoption?

On Tuesday, US Senators Lummis and Gillibrand released their long-awaited crypto bill. After teasing the regulatory framework for months, the senators went to Medium to announce the release. The short title for the proposal is the “Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act.

• The framework itself provides clarity and guidance on many facets of the crypto market.
• A stablecoin is defined and interpreted as an asset-backed note redeemable on a one-to-one basis for USD or other foreign assets defined as legal tender, (except where nations have adopted digital assets as legal tender.)
• The IRS will be forced to adopt guidance classifying airdrops and forks, proceeds from staking or mining, etc., and given a timeline to do so.
• It also allows you to use crypto to pay for purchases less than $200 without incurring a loss/gain.
• The crypto broker term is clarified.
• While the CFTC is given dominion over the spot markets, any company that raises funds through digital asset sales will be required to make disclosures to the SEC.
• The bill clarifies custody arrangements, specifically how exchanges treat customer holdings should they go bankrupt.
• A timeline is established for interagency coordination of the guidance and regulation that they must issue.

Under this proposed bill, bitcoin and ethereum would fall under CFTC oversight with other commodities. Hate it or love it, this is the most comprehensive regulatory framework to come from lawmakers regarding digital assets. If the senators can garner enough support for the bill to be enacted, it will absolutely pave the way to widespread adoption.