Nancy Pelosi mulls supporting Republican’s FIT21 crypto bill: Report
Former United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reportedly mulling support for the Republican-led crypto bill, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21).
Pelosi — now Speaker Emerita and no longer in the Democratic Party leadership — may support the bill that could hit the House floor for a vote on May 22, U.S. political magazine The American Prospect reported on May 21, citing sources familiar with Pelosi’s thinking.
FIT21 would clarify how the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission would divvy up authority over crypto assets.
If passed, the bill would also change the 90-year-old Howey test — a legal standard for determining what assets are securuties — and take crypto mostly out of the SEC’s oversight.
FIT21 has been welcomed by the crypto industry, with many claiming it clears the currently clouded regulatory framework for digital assets.
Mark Hays, a senior policy analyst on fintech with Americans for Financial Reform, told The American Prospect that “the bill delivers what the industry has sought for some time: a regulatory regime mostly dominated by the CFTC, which has been far more accommodating of the industry.”
If Pelosi supports the bill, she would be going against ranking Democrats Maxine Waters and David Scott, who both oppose the bill but leaked emails show they will not whip House Democrats to vote against it.
Pelosi’s reported support of the pro-crypto bill is the latest warming to crypto from the Democrats with some analysts suggesting a possible SEC U-turn on spot Ether (ETH) fund approvals is another effort at swaying support from pro-crypto voters.
However, financial reform groups and anti-crypto Democrats argue the bill would undo decades of financial regulations to benefit the crypto industry.
“This is not about supporting crypto, this is about trying to navigate the threat of promises from super PACs,” said Hays.
The crypto industry has leveraged super PACs — political action committees — that can solicit unlimited sums of money to support of pro-crypto candidates in the upcoming U.S. election.
Opposing Democrats such as Senator Elizabeth Warren and financial reform groups see them as a threat as crypto plays an increasingly larger role in this year’s elections.
On May 21, North Carolina Representative Wiley Nickel called on lawmakers to support FIT21 to stop the SEC from “turning cryptocurrency regulation into a political football.”