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Tom Emmer, the U.S. Congressman for Minnesota’s 6th District, announced today his intention to propose three crypto-friendly bills to Congress that would protect and promote the digital and financial infrastructure needed for cryptocurrencies. From Emmer’s own website, he states that these will be “three groundbreaking bills to support blockchain technology and digital currencies.”
Tom Emmer has been one of the most crypto-friendly politicians currently in the United States Congress. He sees blockchain and the crypto space as a new space for innovation and growth, and one that should not be limited. Ultimately, his announcement comes at a time when blockchain lobbying groups and some of the first pro-crypto political organizations are beginning to form. Ultimately, the battle will rage on within the halls of Congress.
Emmer hopes that Congress passess laws to resolve the “grey area” that currently exists when it comes to the law and cryptocurrencies. This grey area, according to Emmer, has effectively stifled this burgeoning fintech field. Ultimately, a legal roadmap must be created to account for the timeline of when crypto firms and projects can expect these grew areas to be resolved.
As per Emmer’s press release, he is proposing three bills that will, if passed, have widespread ramifications for the crypto space in the United States.
Resolution Supporting Digital Currencies and Blockchain Technology
This Resolution implores Congress to create a “light touch, consistent, and simple legal environment” for the cryptocurrency space. It is more of a call to agreement within Congress that the development of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies is integral to the future of the United States and that steps must be taken to account for this.
Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act
This Act will clarify some of the legal statuses of some of the crypto space’s many actors. For example, the relationship between crypto-to-fiat, financial licenses, and so on. The Act would establish that “blockchain related entities that never take control of consumer funds do not need to register as a money transmitter.” This means that cryptocurrency miners and other similar service providers will not be in legally ambiguous waters.
Safe Harbor for Taxpayers with Forked Assets Act
This Act will establish legal precedent for “forked” cryptocurrencies. Rather than seeing them as ambiguous assets, ‘forking’ is a new concept that must be incorporated into new laws, not forced into old financial regulations.
Overall, Emmer has garnered a positive response from the cryptocurrency community at large. He is also one of the bipartisan co-chairs of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus which is the first of its kind of Washington. With more and more politicians being exposed to blockchain technology, crypto will surely see its political impact come to fruition in the coming next few years.