Tuberville bill would block Chinese ownership of US crypto companies

The bill could be slipped into the US Farm Bill up to be renewed in September 2023, Sen. Tommy Tuberville said

article-image

lev radin/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., introduced a bill Wednesday alongside Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., that will ban companies established in China from acquiring a stake in American digital asset firms. 

The bill is an attempt to rid the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on American crypto companies, according to Tuberville.

“This bipartisan bill will help to wall off the burgeoning American digital commodity industry from CCP interference and preserve our data privacy and investor protection rights,” Tuberville wrote in a statement

Serving as an amendment to the Commodity Exchange Act, the bill would prohibit the CFTC from greenlighting any American-based crypto firm that is “owned in whole or in part by an entity organized or established in the [People’s Republic of China].” 

Tuberville first made his intentions to introduce this bill known in a Wednesday Wall Street Journal opinion piece, where he added that under the bill, the CFTC would have the power to block sales of crypto firms to Chinese-based companies. 

In it, Tuberville hinted that his crypto bill could be slipped into the US Farm Bill, a massive piece of legislation that expires in September 2023. 

Prometheum Ember Capital is what spurred Tuberville’s interest to keep China out of American crypto. Prometheum was granted a license by FINRA on May 23 to operate as a custodian for digital assets. Tuberville cited SEC filings showing that Prometheum is strategic partners with Shanghai Wanxiang Blockchain Inc., which is a spinoff of Wanxiang Group.

Tuberville’s smoking gun is that Lu Guanqiu, the founder of Wanxiang Group, was posthumously praised by the CCP in 2021 and named a “National Excellent Communist Party Member.” The CCP went on to say in a press release that “Comrade Lu Guanqiu had always listened to the Party and followed the Party.”

So far, China hasn’t been a huge focus in lawmakers’ crypto bills, but Tuberville has shifted that dynamic. Gillibrand hasn’t been on the record about her joint effort with Tuberville on this bill, but has teamed up with Republicans before. 

Gillibrand and Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., tried to pass the Responsible Financial Innovation Act last year, a bill focused on regulating digital assets. It hasn’t been reintroduced in the new congress yet.

Congress is also beginning to take notice of Web3 and blockchain technology, applications of crypto beyond money and currency.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce gathered Wednesday to discuss possible use cases for distributed ledger tech. 

One professor talked about blockchain’s potential to advance contact tracing systems for Covid-19 and other diseases. Another expert testified on the topic of smart contracts, saying they could help improve regulatory compliance and supply chain management.

Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., said his colleagues are making a mistake talking only about the security versus commodity debate.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 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.

Industry City | 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.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (19).png

Research

Suilend has grown into the top money market and liquid staking provider on Sui. STEAMM, Suilend’s Superfluid AMM, presents a compelling avenue for growing market share within Sui’s DEX landscape and revenue generation for the protocol. Suilend’s multi-product suite position it well for owning market share across key verticals. While current metrics across the Sui ecosystem are likely inflated due to Sui Foundation incentive programs, SEND trades at amongst the lowest multiples in the lend/borrow sector, suggesting that a bull case for continued growth in the ecosystem may be mispriced.

article-image

The stablecoin issuer now plans to offer 32 million Class A common stock shares at a price of up to $28 each

article-image

Let’s go whale watching, Bitcoin style: Investigating the mysterious “12ib7” wallet now worth $3.2 billion

article-image

Bitget’s L2 is undergoing a leadership change and will be helmed by Colin Goltra, formerly the blockchain’s chief growth officer

article-image

The funding was spread out across 61 rounds, a slight dip in both number of rounds and total funding in comparison to other months

article-image

Why is it controversial to say things are better than they used to be?

article-image

Wallchain could make influencer ROI more measurable for Solana businesses