ChainCatcher news, U.S. Congressman French Hill expressed optimism that the crypto market structure bill and stablecoin legislation will be considered before the end of 2024. Hill noted during a discussion at Washington DC's Fintech Week that these two bills may gain traction during the "lame duck period" after the November elections.Additionally, he emphasized that if these bills cannot pass this year, they will become priority issues for 2025. Currently, the House has passed the FIT 21 bill, which gives the Commodity Futures Trading Commission the authority to regulate digital commodities.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, U.S. House Financial Services Committee senior Democrat Maxine Waters stated that she hopes to reach a "significant agreement" on stablecoin legislation by the end of this year.Waters emphasized that the new legislation should prioritize consumer protection and strong federal oversight, while allowing multiple pathways to create stablecoins, but the Federal Reserve must play a leading role.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitwiseinvestments, Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of digital asset management company Bitwise, recently stated that if the U.S. Congress passes comprehensive stablecoin legislation this year, its impact on promoting the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies could surpass that of the launch of a U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF.On Wednesday, senior Democratic member of the House Financial Services Committee, Maxine Waters, indicated that she and committee chairman Patrick McHenry will soon introduce a stablecoin bill. Hougan believes that this important signal has been underestimated by the market. He pointed out that the bipartisan consensus in Congress on stablecoin legislation is primarily based on three factors: 1. Stablecoins help maintain the U.S. dollar's status as the global reserve currency; 2. Stablecoin projects are major buyers of U.S. Treasury bonds, comparable to the 16th largest sovereign holder globally; 3. Stablecoins contain enormous financial opportunities, as the largest stablecoin issuer, Tether, generated $6.3 billion in profit last year with just 125 employees.Hougan expects that as the first comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation passed by Congress, the bill will allow banks like JPMorgan to enter this field, and millions of individuals and businesses will have access to crypto wallets, stablecoins, and blockchain-based payment channels. The use of stablecoins for payments may become the norm in the coming years. Hougan described this as another "leap forward" for the cryptocurrency market following the Bitcoin ETF. Although investors cannot directly profit from the appreciation of stablecoins, they can invest in the related infrastructure, such as layer one blockchains like Ethereum and Solana that host a large supply of stablecoins, as well as various DeFi applications that interact with stablecoins.

ChainCatcher news, UK Chancellor Bim Afolami stated that the UK will introduce new legislation regarding stablecoins as well as cryptocurrency staking, trading, and custody before June or July of this year. The Conservative-led government expressed its desire to make the UK a global cryptocurrency hub and passed legislation last year recognizing cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as regulated financial activities in the country.

ChainCatcher news, according to Punchbowl News, the chances of passing a regulatory framework for stablecoins in the U.S. Congress this year are increasingly slim, but the furthest-reaching lawmakers pushing for legislation reportedly held a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.It is reported that the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Republican Patrick McHenry from North Carolina, and the senior Democratic member of the committee, Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters from California, met with Chuck Schumer on Thursday in an attempt to advance the legislative process.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by TheBlock, an investment bank TD Cowen's latest report states that last year, the "CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act" proposed by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer may be voted on alongside the highly anticipated stablecoin bill, which could undermine bipartisan support for the stablecoin bill, as Democrats generally believe that the value of central bank-issued cryptocurrencies should at least be explored. Bipartisan leadership has been negotiating for years to reach an agreement on the stablecoin bill.Previously, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stated that the central bank is "nowhere near" proposing or adopting a CBDC.

ChainCatcher news, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stated that legislation regarding stablecoins is needed, and the Federal Reserve's digital currency requires Congressional approval.

ChainCatcher news, according to the recent "Global Crypto Regulation Report 2023" published by PwC, in 2023, up to 25 countries/regions have developed legislation or regulatory measures related to stablecoins. According to PwC's analysis and regulatory assessment, these countries/regions include Austria, the Bahamas, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and others.

ChainCatcher News, data from the U.S. Senate Public Records Office shows that lobbying activities targeting crypto stablecoins surged in the first three quarters of 2023, including lobbying funds from the largest stablecoin issuer, Tether. There have been 161 lobbying disclosure reports mentioning stablecoin legislation or regulation, an increase of 79% compared to the 90 reports mentioning the topic in the first three quarters of 2022. According to data provided by OpenSecrets based on federal disclosure, lobbying funds spent on behalf of Tether skyrocketed to $760,000 during this period, ranking sixth among all cryptocurrency companies, approximately double that of the previous year. Digital asset exchange Coinbase Global revealed that a significant portion of the over $2 million spent in the first nine months of this year was allocated to stablecoins.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, U.S. House lawmakers failed to reach a bipartisan agreement on stablecoin legislation, with Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry blaming the White House's intransigence for the stalemate, while Democratic leaders claimed it was McHenry who halted the negotiations.It is reported that lawmakers focused on finance had previously introduced three bills related to cryptocurrency issues and voted on them in the full House.

ChainCatcher News: The U.S. House Financial Services Committee will vote in July on legislation aimed at creating a clearer path for digital assets to transition from securities to commodities, as well as a comprehensive framework for stablecoins.The committee plans to debate and possibly advance two proposed new laws in the second week of July. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Coindesk citing informed sources, House Democrats are considering drafting a new stablecoin bill proposal, but their views significantly differ from those of the Republicans. This proposal is a follow-up to the version led by Maxine Waters and Patrick McHenry last year, with Maxine Waters having stated a few weeks ago that lawmakers might need to start from scratch. (Source link)

ChainCatcher News, Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced a new stablecoin legislative proposal that would strip the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of its jurisdiction over payment stablecoins. The bill would transfer regulatory authority over stablecoins to federal and state banking and credit union regulators. Additionally, it would no longer involve algorithmic stablecoins or require research on CBDCs. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, French Hill, the chairman of the U.S. House Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion Subcommittee, stated in an interview that stablecoin legislation will be one of the top priorities for the committee. He also mentioned that there will be oversight hearings on regulatory agencies and some actions from last year to learn from them. Additionally, he indicated that stablecoins backed by assets such as the dollar or gold seem to be the most direct or "easily achievable goal" linked to cryptocurrencies. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, retiring Senator Pat Toomey has introduced a stablecoin bill that guides Congress in developing future cryptocurrency regulations. The stablecoin bill will establish new federal licenses for stablecoin issuers, allowing recipients of the new licenses to issue payment stablecoins in conjunction with deposit institutions, state money transmitters, non-depository trust companies, and state-chartered trust banks.Additionally, the proposal will require issuers to fully back their payment stablecoins with "high-quality liquid assets" and will set new standardized public disclosure requirements for issuers. Disclosures will include the assets backing the payment stablecoins, redemption policies, and attestations from public accounting firms. It is reported that senior lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee expect to advance a stablecoin bill next year. (source link)