[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 88 (Tuesday, May 21, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3361-H3362]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         DIGITAL ASSETS MARKET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Nickel) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NICKEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Financial 
Innovation

[[Page H3362]]

and Technology for the 21st Century Act, or FIT21.
  I am proud to have played a critical role in crafting this bipartisan 
legislation. As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, I 
worked with my fellow North Carolinian and Chairman Patrick McHenry and 
Digital Assets Subcommittee Chairman French Hill, to ensure this bill 
brings regulatory clarity to the digital assets market while protecting 
consumers, promoting innovation, and advancing U.S. national security.
  The FIT for the 21st Century Act represents a bipartisan effort to 
regulate centralized intermediaries in the digital assets markets, 
prevent the next FTX, safeguard consumers, cement the U.S. as a global 
leader in finance and technology and promote a secure, innovative, and 
inclusive financial future.
  This commonsense legislation is designed to stop another FTX from 
happening by giving regulators increased power over bad actors, filling 
regulatory gaps between the SEC Commission and CFTC, creating 
accountability through registration and disclosures, requiring 
companies to mitigate conflicts of interest, and requiring firms to 
segregate customer funds from their own.

  This legislation provides the CFTC with the resources they requested 
to undertake the new rulemaking required by FIT21 and authorizes the 
CFTC to charge fees to intermediaries seeking to register.
  This would be a big deal for the United States. Congress has never 
voted on a regulatory structure for crypto. In fact, we are operating 
under a 100-year-old securities law. We are the global leader in 
financial services and technology today. If we want to be the global 
leader in 50 years, then we need to pass the FIT for the 21st Century 
Act.
  The legislation will allow the digital asset ecosystem to thrive in 
the United States, cementing American leadership of the global 
financial system and the next generation of the internet. Without this, 
the SEC's regulation by enforcement will push the industry overseas 
where Americans are not protected.
  Additionally, I am proud to have secured an amendment to this 
legislation during the markup, supported by leaders in both parties on 
the Financial Services Committee, expressing the sense of Congress that 
the U.S. should seek to foster advances in this exciting new era of the 
internet to improve our financial system and create more fair and 
equitable access to Financial Services for everyday Americans.
  Much like the dawn of the internet, this new blockchain technology 
sometimes feels like uncharted territory with immense possibilities. We 
are responsible for ushering in this new era in a way that harnesses 
innovation and ensures consumers are at the forefront.
  Digital assets and blockchain technology have the potential to 
revolutionize our society. They can grow the economy, foster 
collaboration, enhance transparency, increase efficiency, and reduce 
transaction costs for working families.
  Given the rapid pace of digital innovation, we must ensure these 
advancements are not at the cost of consumer safety.
  FIT21 will address these challenges by establishing stricter 
regulatory requirements for emerging financial technologies and 
ensuring that these innovations are secure and transparent before they 
reach consumers.
  Here is the reality: roughly 20 percent of Americans have invested, 
traded, or used crypto, so it is not going anywhere.
  Unfortunately, the SEC's open hostility toward the digital assets 
industry is not serving President Biden's best interests. The SEC is 
turning cryptocurrency regulation into a political football and forcing 
President Biden to choose sides on an issue that matters to many 
Americans.
  As a result, the U.S. is falling behind jurisdictions like the EU, 
U.K., Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and the UAE. We can't afford to lose 
our status as the economic and technological powerhouse of the globe.
  Whether you love crypto or you hate it, you should support 
regulation. The status quo just isn't working, and we can't wait until 
the next crisis to take action.
  It is past time for Congress to act, and we have the opportunity to 
do this, this week, with the FIT for the 21st Century Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
support this legislation to send a clear message that our priority lies 
in protecting consumers, cementing the U.S. as a global leader in 
finance and technology, and promoting an innovative and inclusive 
financial future.

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