New Congressional Subcommittees Foreshadow Pending Digital Asset Legislation

Takeaways

• Two new congressional subcommittees have been created by the U.S. House of Representatives to consider issues and potential legislative action concerning cryptocurrency and digital assets.
• The creation of these subcommittees signals Congress’ intent to consider how digital assets are regulated, which agencies should have the authority to regulate and enforce the asset class, and the scope of any such authority. The subcommittees will sit under the U.S. House Financial Services Committee (Financial Services Committee) and the U.S. House Agriculture Committee (Agriculture Committee), which maintain jurisdiction over the U.S. equities markets and U.S. commodities markets, respectively.

Overview
Two congressional committees of the U.S. House of Representatives commenced the new year by announcing the creation of new subcommittees for the 118th Congress that are expected to analyze issues concerning cryptocurrency and digital assets. The creation of these subcommittees signals the potential for legislative action in the wake of jurisdictional uncertainty regarding federal agency regulation and enforcement of these assets.

Real full alert.