"This is quite a positive development, but the US is lagging far behind."
The cryptocurrency market scored its biggest US policy victory after the House of Representatives passed a bill to establish regulation of the digital asset sector on a 279-136 vote with mostly Democrats backing it.
There is no denying that the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) won on Wednesday, but implementing that oversight is still a long way off as the US lags behind other global jurisdictions.
By observation, 71 Democrats and 208 Republicans voted in favor of the bill compared to 3 Republicans and 133 Democrats who voted against, including Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler.
The legislation was largely driven by House Republicans that would create a regulatory regime for US crypto markets, establish consumer protections, appoint the CFTC as the primary regulator of digital assets and non-securities spot oversight.
According to Maxine Waters, ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, the bill aims to allow crypto businesses that have previously evaded securities laws.
This is because they have made billions of US dollars illegally, Waters commented, adding that Republicans now plan to reward this illegal activity by making it legal.
Before the vote, the House debated several amendments to the bill, where Reps. Greg Casar's amendment to change the crowdfunding exemption from $75 million at $5 million was defeated but the rest was adopted.
