House Republicans and Democrats on May 6 held dueling cryptocurrency-related discussions after Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., blocked a slated joint committee hearing from taking place as planned and led a separate hearing to voice concerns over President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures.
The House Financial Services Committee and House Agriculture Committee had planned to hold a joint hearing on cryptocurrency regulation. But at the start of the hearing, Waters objected. House rules dictate that all committee members need to agree that a joint committee hearing can proceed.
“I cannot in good faith agree to such a hearing that seeks to ignore what Trump and his family are doing,” Waters said in a statement prior to the hearing.
While the planned joint hearing could not move forward following Waters’ objection, Republicans simply held a joint discussion and heard testimony from the same expert panel of witnesses on what a proper regulatory framework for digital asset markets should look like.
“In the absence of safeguards and regulatory certainty, consumers, digital asset firms, and developers are stuck in regulatory limbo and bad actors will continue to flourish,” Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., chair of the House Financial Services Committee, said in a statement following Waters’ objection.
“Inaction isn’t a solution. Committee Republicans on Financial Services and the House Committee on Agriculture will continue to work with legislators on both side of the aisle who are serious about creating a lasting framework that protects Americans, encourages innovation, and brings digital asset leadership back to the U.S.”
On May 5, Hill and other Republican leaders from the two committees unveiled a discussion draft that’s regarded as the successor a bill that passed the House last year.
That bill, known as the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, or FIT 21 Act, called for splitting jurisdiction of digital asset regulation so the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would gain new oversight of the digital commodities market, while the SEC would oversee the digital securities market. The bill would also call on both agencies to propose joint rulemaking on digital assets and allow digital asset intermediaries to dually register with the SEC and CFTC.
The new discussion draft covers similar ground.
But while committee Republicans discussed the draft, Democrats held a separate hearing to continue raising alarms about Trump’s involvement in the crypto space.
World Liberty Financial, the crypto business linked to Trump, announced plans in late March to launch a stablecoin as lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee debated a bill to regulate stablecoins, which are digital assets that link their value to another asset such as the dollar. That bill passed out of committee April 2, despite Democrats’ staunch criticism about how the bill could benefit Trump.
Separately, Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, in January launched their own crypto tokens, often referred to as meme coins.
At the Democrats’ hearing, Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, said Trump is using his position “to line the pockets” of his friends and family.
