It is aimed to receive approval from Congress by July 4 for the Digital Asset Market Transparency Act, which is one of the important steps towards regulating cryptocurrency markets in the USA. In his statement at the Consensus Conference organized by CoinDesk in Miami, Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President’s Council of Digital Assets Advisors, shared with the public the schedule of the process and the steps planned to be followed for the passage of the law.
Legal Calendar and Expectations
Patrick Witt stated that the relevant committees, especially the Senate Banking Committee, will start making arrangements on the law this month, and that a total of four working weeks in the Senate in June can be allocated for this law. If the process is completed as planned, it seems possible that the House of Representatives will vote before July 4, which is Independence Day.
However, this timetable is a little faster compared to the assessment made by New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at the same conference. Gillibrand stated that he predicted that the law could only be submitted to the President for approval in the first week of August.
Regarding the process, Witt stated, “There is no longer a gap in the rope, but we are still on an achievable schedule.”
Consensus on Stablecoin Regulation
The bill’s progress in the Senate was made possible by the compromise reached by Senator Thom Tillis and Senator Angela Alsobrooks on stablecoin returns in May. With the change, returns similar to bank deposits were banned for stablecoins, while spending-based rewards were allowed.
To reach the compromise, the White House worked with both banks and crypto companies, then presented the text to senators, according to Patrick Witt. It is stated that both parties were not fully satisfied with the final agreement.
For this compromise, Witt summarized the process by saying, “Crypto companies are not happy, the banks are not happy, but they are both equally dissatisfied, so we found the right balance,” and pointed out that the stablecoin yield debate is closed.
Conflict of Interest and Additional Regulations
Another important discussion point of the law is the regulations regarding conflict of interest. Despite the differences between Democrats and the administration, it was emphasized that the White House would accept general rules that apply to everyone, but was against provisions that would target an individual official or his relatives.
Witt underlined that specific targeting of politicians’ families or specific officials would not be allowed.
Additionally, Witt said that if the law is not passed on time, the United States may have to comply with global crypto regulations with rules written by other countries; He specifically stated that China’s determination of this could lead to undesirable consequences.
He also reminded that the US’s leadership in financial markets is one of the cornerstones of its national hegemony.
On the other hand, Witt also made evaluations about the “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act”, which was adopted last year and concerns stablecoin issuers. It was stated that institutions such as the Ministry of Finance, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation are approaching the one-year period that will expire in July to prepare the regulations specified under the law.
Witt said, “These issues are quite complex and we must act in accordance with the administrative procedure law. We have collected opinions from many institutions,” and argued that the regulation should be flexible enough to support the development of the sector but not unnecessarily limit innovation.
