Senator Lummis To Propose New Bitcoin Bill Next Year

The bill would establish a clearer framework for U.S. regulators to deal with Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

• Senator Lummis is planning to introduce a detailed bill on Bitcoin and crypto next year.
• The bill would provide guidelines for categorizing digital assets and create a new regulatory agency to oversee the cryptocurrency market.

Pro-bitcoin U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis is preparing to introduce a comprehensive cryptocurrency bill next year that would define how to classify and tax different digital assets.

“Welcome bipartisan cosponsors! Please encourage your senator to reach out and consider it,” Lummis tweeted, quoting Bitcoin Magazine’s tweet announcing the news.

A senior aide for the senator told Bloomberg that, if enacted, the bill would “provide regulators with clear guidance on which assets belong to different asset classes, offer protections for consumers, regulate stablecoins, and create a new organization under the joint jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to oversee the digital asset market.”

Since its inception, Bitcoin has brought innovation to the U.S. and uncertainty to its regulatory body. As the monetary network advances in usage and recognition across the country, Washington has had a hard time figuring out how to fit the new technology under existing legislation.

On December 8, chief executives of prominent cryptocurrency companies joined the U.S. House of Representatives for a hearing that sought to enlighten lawmakers on the tech’s novelty, as, according to the hearing’s leader Rep. Maxine Waters, “several questions remain as to how traditional rules apply” to the asset class. The C-level executives argued that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are fundamentally different from the established system and suggested lawmakers should consider writing specific legislation for the industry.

Lummis is outspoken about Bitcoin and its benefits, as well as about her support for the technology. The senator also has drawn a dividing line between Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, saying in November that the peer-to-peer monetary network is “fully decentralized” and “clearly a commodity” while “everything else has to be monitored differently,” likening their behavior to that of securities.

In the previous month, Lummis had criticized her colleagues’ approval of the American debt limit increase by $480 billion, saying that Bitcoin is a blessing of God amid irresponsible policies at the government level.

Lummis had between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of bitcoin as of December 2020, according to her financial disclosures, and has since bought at least $50,000 more of BTC.