House Agriculture and Financial Services Committee Release Discussion Draft for Digital Asset Legislation

The leadership of the House Agriculture Committee and House Financial Services Committee recently released a discussion draft that would create a regulatory framework for the issuance and trading of digital assets in the United States. The draft sets a framework for a company to register with the SEC in order to issue a digital asset, allows for Alternative Trading Systems (ATS) to register as exchanges for crypto assets that remain securities, and provide a regulatory pathway for CFTC oversight of digital assets that move outside of the investment contract status. The draft bill would require a joint rulemaking process for the SEC and CFTC, which can prove challenging. The draft is also silent on any specific existing assets, which likely means that digital assets currently in existence would need to be certified separately. It is important to note that the draft has not been introduced, and while it does not need Democratic support to pass the House, it would need support from at least some Democrats in the Senate to advance.

Click here to read the Republican-lead discussion draft.
Click here to read a section-by-section summary of the draft.
Click here to read a press release from House Financial Services and House Agriculture Committee leadership on the discussion draft.