The United States House of Representatives passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21). May 22.
A total of 279 representatives voted yes, 136 voted no, and 15 abstained when voting on the crypto bill.
The bill received bipartisan support, but received mostly Republican votes, with 208 of 217 Republican representatives voting yes. In contrast, 71 of 213 Democratic representatives voted in favor of the bill.
Despite minority Democratic support, the bipartisan approval drew praise from within the crypto industry. Crypto exchange Coinbase note “strong bipartisan support”, while the CLO Paul Grewal called the 71 Democratic votes “real progress” against the refusal to legislate.
The bill is not yet a law. The Senate is scheduled to vote on FIT21 at a later date.
Bill Could Help Crypto Thrive
President Patrick McHenry called the vote a “historic step,” saying the bill provides “regulatory clarity and strong consumer protections” to help the U.S. crypto ecosystem thrive.
The proposed legislation aims to clearly define how the SEC and CFTC can regulate crypto as securities and commodities by creating registration regimes for each.
The bill also aims to ensure that crypto issuers provide disclosures and disclosures, provide issuers with a clear path to raise funds, and clarify relevant regimes for each issuer.
FIT21 also aims to ensure that exchanges, brokers and dealers provide information, segregate customer funds from company funds and meet other requirements.
The opposition appeared
Despite majority bipartisan support, some lawmakers and regulators have spoken out against FIT21.
Democratic Representative Maxine Waters argued that the bill would allow crypto companies to escape liability after generating “billions of dollars by illegally issuing or facilitating the purchase and sale of crypto securities.”
Meanwhile, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler publicly opposite FIT21 before the vote, saying the bill infringes on the agency's existing powers over investment contracts and securities.
The White House said it opposed the bill but did not intend to veto it if it passed the Senate.