The House may soon vote on legislation that would dictate how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversee cryptocurrencies. A provision that would make it harder for the SEC to classify certain digital assets as securities and a separate provision that would bar the Federal Reserve from issuing a Central Digital Bank Currency (CBDC) are under discussion as additions to a House bill.
Separately, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is the lead sponsor of Senate legislation that would prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC. Both the Cruz legislation and the House anti-CBDC legislation would also prevent an “intermediated” CBDC whereby the Federal Reserve creates a digital currency using banks or other institutions as intermediaries. However, both bills permit private stablecoins that offer parallels—not replacements—to money and payment systems.
IBAT has vigorously opposed the creation of a CBDC and expressed concerns about the use of cryptocurrencies and their potential impact on community banks.
