Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has been appointed Chair of the newly formed US Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets, a move signaling increased focus on cryptocurrency regulation in the 119th Congress. The announcement, made by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC), lauded Lummis’s expertise and leadership in the digital asset space.
Senator Lummis, a well-known Bitcoin advocate and proponent of blockchain technology, emphasized the importance of a proactive approach to digital assets for maintaining America’s financial leadership. “Digital assets are the future, and if the US wants to remain a global leader in financial innovation, Congress urgently needs to pass bipartisan legislation that creates a comprehensive legal framework for digital assets and strengthens the US dollar with a strategic bitcoin reserve,” Lummis stated.
Chairman Scott echoed Lummis’s perspective, highlighting the transformative potential of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies for the financial sector. “There is no better representative for the industry than my friend Cynthia Lummis,” Scott affirmed.
The newly established subcommittee has outlined two primary objectives for the current congressional session:
Legislative Action: The subcommittee will prioritize drafting bipartisan legislation to foster responsible digital asset innovation. This includes addressing market structure, regulating stablecoins, and exploring the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the United States.
Regulatory Oversight: The subcommittee will oversee federal financial regulators to ensure adherence to existing laws and prevent actions similar to “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” a perceived attempt to restrict banking services to certain industries.
The announcement has generated considerable buzz within the cryptocurrency community. Changpeng Zhao (CZ), former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, retweeted the news of Lummis’s appointment, adding, “The US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is almost finalized. Crypto is moving at crypto speed again.”
