Senator Cynthia Lummis Spills Beans on What to Expect from US' Crypto Laws

US Senator Cynthia Lummis has been working on a pro-crypto regulatory framework that will lay out the foundation of US' awaited crypto laws. The country, led by President Joe Biden, is looking to bring virtual digital assets under a legal framework, similar to the ones that govern the traditional assets there. As part of her draft framework, Lummis has proposed to treat crypto assets like Bitcoin as commodities. The senator is focussing on making a proposal that brings the crypto sector under government jurisdiction, without barring any scope for development of the multi trillion-dollar industry.

The Conservative Republican senator from Wyoming revealed some details on her crypto bill draft while speaking to Axios news media on Mary 3.

“We've designed it so it works within the customary framework for managing and regulating traditional assets. So, for example, Bitcoin is a commodity. So, it would fall under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for purposes of trading and the spot market and the futures market. And then when something fits in the Howey Test, that makes it a security, it would fall under the Securities Exchange Commission,” Lummis said during her interview.

Different elements of the blockchain industry will be divided into at least five groups, responsibilities of which may be handed to relevant committees already in place in the US.

“We're going to introduce it as one big piece so people can see the big picture, how the commodities components work, with the securities components, with the stable coins and with potential CBDC,” Lummis added.

The US, for now, is confused on the categorisation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These are digital collectibles, most of which can interact with the metaverse, and can fetch holders some funds in resales.

Senator Lummis has invited feedback on her crypto bill draft in order to customise it to favour industry players and investors.

Crypto holding and trading are not banned in the US. The nation identifies crypto as a property, and not currency. US' Internal Revenue Service (IRS) imposes a tax reportedly between 10 to 20 percent on crypto transactions in the USA.

Recently, US President Joe Biden signed executive orders on the government oversight of the cryptocurrency industry.