New set of crypto bills debut on Hill

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As lawmakers strive to reach an agreement before the June 5 deadline to raise the debt ceiling, two new crypto-focused bills made their debut on Capitol Hill last week.

After a series of hearings focused on stablecoins, cryptocurrency classification, and the identity of the lead regulator, House and Senate lawmakers moved forward with bills focused on two new topics.

Representative Alex Mooney, RW.V., on Thursday introduced the Digital Dollar Pilot Prevention Act, a bill aimed at preventing a central bank digital currency, or similar government-issued token, from taking off.

CBDCs would threaten the freedoms of law-abiding Americans and are currently being used by authoritarian countries to suppress dissent, Mooney said in a statement Thursday.

Mooneys’ bill received 14 co-sponsors, all Republicans, who widely emerged as the party arguing against a CBDC due to concerns over lack of privacy.

The bill comes shortly after the Federal Reserve teamed up with several foreign central banks on a report covering the potential impact of CBDCs on the global economy. The report noted privacy, data governance and anonymity as key areas where legal issues could arise with a retail CBDC.

Also last week, members of Congress moved forward in a bipartisan effort to provide more transparency on the extent to which cryptography is used for drug trafficking on the dark web. Representatives Chris Pappas, DN.H., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, introduced the Dark Web Prohibition Act on Monday while senses. Maggie Hassan, DN.H., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, presented a twin bill to the Senate floor.

The bills seek to impose tougher penalties for trafficking controlled substances on the dark web and direct the attorney general to release a report to Congress on the role of cryptocurrencies in drug trafficking on the dark web. The report would specifically detail which tokens are used most often and how individuals using cryptos could be identified.

The bills come as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle struggle to advance crypto policy. House Republicans and Democrats have released dueling stablecoin bills, highlighting differences in how lawmakers view the role of state legislators and which issuers receive approval.

Even bipartisan efforts, like the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, drafted by Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Kirsten Gillibrand, DN.Y., have struggled to gain traction with key committees. Lummis and Gillibrand announced they would reintroduce the law last April, but senators have yet to introduce the bill this session.

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