Bipartisan Crypto Bill To Hit Congress Within Weeks

Senators Lummis and Gillibrand are out to prove bipartisan digital asset policy is still possible in Washington

article-image

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Source; Gage Skidmore

share

key takeaways

  • Senators Lummis and Gillibrand said they plan to unveil their bipartisan crypto bill in June
  • It will be the first comprehensive cryptocurrency bill to be introduced, Gillibrand said

Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) took the stage Tuesday at the DC Blockchain Summit to discuss details of their highly anticipated bipartisan cryptocurrency bill, which they said will be introduced as soon as next week. 

The Responsible Financial Innovation Act, which has been in the works for over a year, is going to be the first comprehensive digital assets framework to make it to Capitol Hill, Gillibrand said. 

“Our bill does include some of the [same] provisions as some of the other House and Senate bills, but no other bill endeavors to create a regulatory framework for the whole industry,” Gillibrand said. “Most other bills are small, discreet and one-idea bills.” 

Highlights of the bill include provisions that protect miners from being treated as brokers, which tackles a controversial section of the recently-passed Infrastructure Bill. It also grants the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulatory authority over much of the space and clarifies that cryptocurrencies are not securities unless they are being offered to fund a company, such as an initial coin offering. 

“It’s pretty clear that bitcoin is a commodity,” Lummis said. “It is our intent that the CFTC takes the reins of jurisdiction over bitcoin and [ether], together they make up over 60% of the cryptocurrency markets in existence, and they’re the ones that are most likely to survive.” 

The bill references the same “responsible innovation” highlighted in President Biden’s executive order. It’s a cause the two senators are hoping their colleagues can get behind. 

“Cynthia [Lummis] and I together can work with our colleagues to find the common ground to move it forward,” Gillibrand said. “I’m very optimistic, and the reason I am is because this bill has been heavily researched.”

The two senators have consulted with stakeholders and industry leaders for months to compose this bill, Lummis added. There have been successful bipartisan efforts in the past, Gillibrand said, and this should be no different. Still, getting the bill to the floor is going to be an uphill battle, the two admitted.

This bill will have at least four committees of jurisdiction, Gillibrand said. To make it to a vote on the floor, it will likely need at least four hearings, which can be a lengthy process. Efforts are already underway, Gillibrand said. 

“On my committee of jurisdiction on the Agriculture Committee, Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) was very interested in this space,” Gillibrand said. “I’m going to give her our draft legislation and I’m hoping that she likes it enough to mark up this draft.”


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

recent research

LTIPPanalysis.png

Research

This report is a retroactive analysis of Arbitrum's Long Term Incentives Pilot Program (LTIPP). We collect relevant data at a protocol level and review bi-weekly updates to analyze recipients, their strategies, and the impact of the incentives on high level growth metrics. In particular, we want to highlight outperformers and underperformers, and glean any best practices or lessons learned for protocols distributing ARB incentives in the future. The overarching goal is to synthesize lessons learned that the DAO can reference as it begins thinking about future incentives programs–namely, the working group for incentives that is being actively discussed–especially as Timeboost introduces new conditions for trading and economic activity.

article-image

While acknowledging potential headwinds for risk assets, Galaxy’s Alex Thorn notes there are also plenty of catalysts

article-image

BuilderNet is a new block building network designed to return more MEV and gas fees to users

article-image

Ledn’s John Glover gives some price targets to watch for bitcoin

article-image

Sponsored

AI project Zerebro intersects the spheres of artificial intelligence, finance, art, music, and culture

article-image

Allmight is focused on furthering the United States’ leadership in crypto

article-image

The conditions Charles Schwab is waiting for before jumping headfirst into crypto could take shape soon