100 crypto lobbyists gear up for the fight of their lives as Congress resumes

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Cryptocurrencies will be a hot topic as the United States Congress resumes and battle lines are drawn between lawmakers for and against the nascent financial industry.

But the Blockchain Association reports that more than 100 crypto industry advocates are battling to find the right balance between protection and innovation.

The 118th US Congress convened in Washington DC on January 3. It is scheduled to continue until January 3, 2025, during the final two years of President Joe Bidens’ first term.

The crypto industry is currently in the crosshairs after several high-profile meltdowns over the past year, the biggest being the collapse of FTX in early November.

In a Twitter thread on Jan. 3, the Blockchain Association’s Director of Government Relations, Ron Hammond, highlighted the challenges and opportunities for Congress on the day of its resumption.

1) This week in Congress and crypto: The first day of the 118th Congress is here! It’s no secret that the crypto industry is in the crosshairs of Congress after the FTX fallout. This Congress presents challenges and opportunities, so here is the latest news from the field…

— Ron Hammond (@RonwHammond) January 3, 2023

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has gone from a cherished political gift to public enemy number one on Capitol Hill. Hammond added:

The problem for many in DC is that they equate FTX with the entire crypto industry.

The collapse could initiate legislation once a decade and there are already strong proposals for a regulatory framework such as the Lummis-Gillibrand bill. The bipartisan bill addresses agency jurisdiction, stablecoin regulations, banking, crypto taxes, and interagency coordination.

Hammond said the first few months of Congress will focus on FTX, although regulating stablecoins is also a priority.

Small bills like stablecoins and spot market regulations have a chance to evolve this year, but will likely have to wait for the dust to settle on FTX in both the courts and congressional hearings.

The battle lines will be split between pro-crypto House Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry and anti-crypto Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown, who took the extreme step of suggesting a crypto ban on last month.

There are also proposals for crypto regulation by agriculture committees that argue for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to oversee regulation.

Hammond also said his Congress likely will address new topics this year such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) which have attracted increased interest due to the measures of application last year.

On the positive side, he concluded that crypto has a strong bench in DC and continues to poach talent from other industries onto the advocacy, lobbying and political fronts.

What used to be less than a dozen people from CoinCenter, Coinbase, the Blockchain Association and a few other groups has now grown into a network of more than 100 policy experts, which is cause for optimism, he said. -he adds.

Related: Four Legislative Predictions For Crypto In 2023

On January 4, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also said he was cautiously optimistic for 2023. He added that no bill is perfect and that pursuing one should not block the progress of the Congress in developing a regulatory framework.

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