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The SEC's new Crypto Task Force is hosting its first roundtable this week.

The freshman class of the 119th Congress includes a new generation of bipartisan Members of Congress who campaigned on support for blockchain and cryptocurrency. New Members are aligned with incumbent crypto champions from across the Congressional Tri-Caucus. As a result, the path toward a policy and regulatory framework for Web3 and DeFi is no longer murky.

Yet, it’s important to note that the crypto sector is not a monolith. The vibrant ecosystem is decentralized, with varied power blocks to engage.

Crypto is a $3 trillion market that has been fueled by diverse consumers and entreprenuers. Data shows the earliest, and largest adopters of crypto continue to be Black, Latinos, Indigenous communities. While the data points to a large portion of male engagement, it does NOT suggest women of color are not core to this trend. More research is need to deepen understanding.

Women are a significant part of the Web3 and DeFi ecosystem, though they are unfairly relegated as “hidden-figures.” It would be a mistake to incorrectly advance a 'crypto-bruh' narrative.

Core Issues:

The driving issue for crypto policy in Washington is competitiveness: (1) fostering innovation here in America, (2) positioning the US as a global market leader. 

Greater focus on innovation and competitiveness for entrepreneurs and small businesses in the U.S. is needed:

• Risk Mitigation: Financial education, tools to combat scams and fraud, authorizing MDIs to offer digital assets with risk services. 
• Economic Opportunity: Access to capital, technological infrastructure investments, future workforce development.

Debate On Stablecoin Bills Advance:

1. Senate Banking Committee members Senators Bill Hagerty and Cynthia Lummis, as well as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, have introduced the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, legislation to establish a clear regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.
- Last week, 3/13, the Senate Banking Committee held a markup of the GENUIS Act, which passed with bipartisan support. 

2. House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill and Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee Chairman Bryan Steil released a discussion draft of a bill to establish a framework for the issuance and operation of dollar-denominated payment stablecoins.
- Last week, 3/11, House Financial Services held a Full Committee Hearing: “Navigating the Digital Payments Ecosystem: Examining a Federal Framework for Payment Stablecoins and Consequences of a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency”

3. Ranking Member Maxine Waters has unveiled bipartisan Stablecoins Legislation.

Market Structure Legislation Up Next:

Last Congress, the FIT21 bill advanced in the House on a bipartisan basis. Legislative language is in development.

Policies to Curtail Debanking:

• Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott has introduced the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management (FIRM) Act to remove reputational risk as a component of federal supervision. 

• New guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency states that "crypto-asset custody, certain stablecoin activities, and participation in independent node verification networks such as distributed ledger are permissible for national banks and federal savings associations." 

• The White House has an AI & Crypto Czar, a Working Group on Digital Assets, and is hosting a series of crypto summits (The first one was with crypto CEOs recently).

• Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Congressman Ritchie Torres just launched a new Congressional Crypto Caucus to serve as a "unified nonpartisan voting block in Congress." This is different from the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, which was created in 2016.

• The Senate & House have announced the creation of a bicameral working group focused on digital assets and comprised of members of the Senate Banking Committee, House Financial Services Committee, and Senate and House Agriculture Committees, to build consensus around a regulatory framework for digital assets that will ensure innovation happens here in the United States.

• The Senate Banking Committee has convened its first digital assets subcommittee, which will be Chaired by Sen. Cynthia Lummis, with Sen. Ruben Gallego as its ranking member. The recently held their first Hearing.

• The SEC has established a Crypto Task Force Chaired by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. Their first briefing is March 21.

• The CFTC has launched announced a series of Public Roundtables on Innovation and Market Structure, led by Action CFTC Chair Caroline Pham. The first one with crypto CEOs was held recently.

Last week, Cleve Mesidor spoke on a panel about crypto policy and stablecoin legislation during Fintech Meetup in Vegas, along with Alex Pelin, Ben Milne and moderator Jeremy M. McLaughlin.

Univision covers Espacio Latino Innovation Hub at SXSW hosted by Monica Talan of Crypto Conexion and Ramona Ortega of WealthBuild.

butterscotch is a digital news studio broadcasting stories about Black, Latino, Indigenous DeFi retail investors, Web3 consumers, founders, executives, officials. The virtual newsroom - featuring eNews, Podcast, Live Events – seeks to deepen mainstream understanding of diverse segments of the emerging $3 trillion crypto industry.

Cleve Mesidor, CEO & Managing Editor

Ashlynn Mesidor, CTO & Co-Founder