Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) spoke on the Senate floor about the ongoing efforts in Congress to establish a clear regulatory framework for digital assets, including cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Kennedy addressed the confusion surrounding federal oversight of these assets and highlighted the need for legislative action.
“The Senate Banking Committee is in the process, as we should be, of considering market structure legislation for digital assets, for Bitcoin, for crypto. And it’s important because there’s an enormous amount of confusion out there,” Kennedy said.
He noted the rapid growth of cryptocurrency ownership in the United States and the challenges that have arisen as a result. “I remember when blockchain technology started, many of us do. Today, one in five Americans own cryptocurrency. Its growth has been nothing short of breathtaking. But as oftentimes happens when you have an innovation, it creates enormous confusion on the way that the subject of that innovation integrates with the federal government, and that’s the case here,” he stated.
Kennedy pointed to overlapping claims of jurisdiction by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which has led to legal disputes and uncertainty for those in the industry. “Those who are in the cryptocurrency business and in the blockchain technology business don’t know who to talk to in the federal government. The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced, under President Biden, that it has jurisdiction over digital assets, and so did the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the CFTC. And there’s been a lot of litigation, and there have been a lot of court cases, and it’s been enormously confusing,” Kennedy said.
He added: “Those in the crypto business understandably have the reaction, ‘Look, we don’t mind being regulated. We have nothing to hide, but we’d like to know who to talk to. Is it the CFTC? Is it the SEC? What do we do?’ That’s why we need legislation. That’s why we need market structure legislation. Not because the government needs to stick its nose in everything, but because there has to be some certainty here. Clearly, there’s a turf war between the CFTC and the SEC, and it’s Congress’s role to delineate who has jurisdiction over what.”
Kennedy emphasized that crafting such legislation will require careful consideration and multiple hearings due to its complexity. “We need to hold hearings. This is a complicated piece of legislation. I’ve spent a lot of time on it, and it’s one of the most complicated pieces of legislation I’ve ever seen. This is just one person’s opinion as a member of Banking: I think it’s going to take at least two hearings for us to be able to understand the pros and the cons of this legislation and understand the legislation itself,” he remarked.
“These are not issues that you raise and solve over a weekend. But I wanted to start talking about this bill, Mr. President, because it’s one of the most important pieces of legislation that this body will consider. It may not be the sexiest, it may not be the most interesting for some, but when one in five Americans own cryptocurrency, it’s certainly important,” Kennedy continued.
He concluded by expressing his hope that lawmakers would move forward efficiently but thoughtfully: “So, I will probably be talking about this issue several more times on this floor, but as the Senate moves forward with our digital assets market structure legislation, I hope we’ll move it quickly, but I hope we’ll move deliberately. I hope we’ll take the time to hold the hearings and, again, I think it’s going to take more than one hearing to address these weighty topics—and then additional time, once we get a bill, to mark it up, as we say, to amend it and make sure that we do the job for the American people.”
