- Cynthia Lummis has officially been confirmed as the Chair of the first-ever crypto-focused subcommittee created by the Senate Banking Committee.
- The subcommittee would focus on two key areas – pass bipartisan digital asset legislation, and conduct a comprehensive oversight over Federal Financial regulators.
In our last update, we examined the plan of the Senate Banking Committee led by Republican Senator Tim Scott to establish the first-ever crypto-focused sub-committee. According to that report, Senator Cynthia Lummis was hinted to Chair the subcommittee, pending confirmation by both the Republican and Democrat Senators through voting.
A week after the disclosure, Lummis announced her confirmation on X and accepted the mandate to head the inaugural subdivision. Fascinatingly, she quickly released a statement on her official website to label digital assets as the future.
According to Lummis, one of the surest ways for the US to remain at the helm of financial innovation is for Congress to pass bipartisan legislation urgently.
I am humbled my colleagues have placed their trust in me to chair this historic subcommittee and I look forward to shepherding bipartisan legislation to President Trump’s desk this year that secures our financial future.
Tim Scott’s Remark and Crypto Regulatory Framework
Following her confirmation, Tim Scott also highlighted his interest in the asset class and the underlying technology, the blockchain. According to him, blockchain has the potential to democratize the financial world. He also re-emphasized that there is “no better champion for the industry than Cynthia Lummis.”
In his statement, Scott assured all stakeholders that his colleagues in the House would seamlessly collaborate with President Donald Trump to establish a commonsense regulatory framework for the effective facilitation of innovation in the US and abroad. He also pointed out that Lummis has been extensively involved in most of the industry legislations from her first appearance at the House.
Since day one, Senator Lummis has been a leader on digital assets legislation, and I am proud to have her spearhead the Banking Committee’s efforts through our new Subcommittee on Digital Assets.
According to our research, the Lummis-led Senate Banking Subcommittee would focus on two important areas – passing bipartisan digital asset legislation and conducting robust oversight over federal financial regulators.
While the former is meant to promote responsible innovation and protect consumers, the latter would ensure that the Agencies strictly operate within the framework of the law. Specifically, it would ensure that Operation Chokepoint 2.0 becomes a “thing of the past.”
Lummis has been a long-term advocate of crypto. As we covered in a 2021 blog post, she has always assured the crypto community that the industry would one day receive a better regulatory framework. She also calls for the full acceptance of digital assets because they are faster, more secure, and cheaper.
Fast-forward, Lummis was reported last year to be working on legislation that would require the Federal Reserve to hold Bitcoin as a reserve asset. As highlighted in our previous article, three executives familiar with the bill provided the hint and explained that the plan was still transitional.
