Blockchain competitiveness bipartisan bill passed the US House

As the crypto community awaits a vote on the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act, the US House passed another, more moderate, pro-crypto bill: the US Blockchain Deployment Act of 2023 by a margin of 334 to 79.

The bipartisan bill directs the Commerce Secretary — currently Gina Raimondo — to “take necessary and appropriate actions to enhance the competitiveness of the United States.” [in] Blockchain technology or other distributed ledger technology.

The bill establishes the secretary as the president's chief advisor on blockchain and gives the secretary a number of responsibilities that include policy development, research, and promotion of the technology. It also directs the Secretary to establish an advisory committee composed of government, industry, academic, and cultural representatives and to submit an annual report to Congress.

Related: US House to vote on FIT21 bill before holiday weekend

Representatives Lisa Blunt Rochester and Larry Bucshon introduced the bill, neither of whom had a previous record on blockchain or crypto issues. On December 5, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved it. The Council of Digital Commerce and Blockchain Association has approved it.

Among the bill's opponents are crypto skeptics Sean Caston, Bill Foster and Brad Sherman, and pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lammis, House of Representatives Harriet Hageman. Caston, along with Sherman, Foster and others, was a lead sponsor in the Blockchain Integrity Act, which was introduced to the House on May 7. This law prohibits the use of crypto hybrid services for two years while the Treasury Department prepares an assessment. from them. This bill has not yet come up for a vote.

The Council He approved the bill on May 15. Two blockchain-adjacent bills — the Consumer Safety Technology Act and the Promoting Supportive Supply Chain Act — were passed on the same day. All of these bills will now be considered in the Senate.

There are currently as many as 50 bills affecting cryptocurrency in various stages of review in the US Congress.

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