In Brief:
- Reintroduced design to remedy concerning FATF proposed guidance to stifle blockchain in the U.S.
- Blockchain Developers who do not take control of consumer funds do not need to register as money transmitters.
U.S Two Congressmen Tom Emmer(R-Minn) and Darren Soto(D-Fla), have reintroduced the bipartisan Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.
According to the announcement, the reintroduced legislation designed to remedy concerning Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “proposed guidance that threatens to stifle blockchain innovation in the United States.”
The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act declares that blockchain developers who do not take control of consumer funds “do not need to register as a money transmitter.” Type of developers includes miners and multi-signature service providers.
“Blockchain service providers need clear rules of the road to be able to develop and invest in the United States, and this clarity is more necessary than ever as the FATF tries to encapsulate more non-custodial blockchain developers in the money transmission system,” said Emmer.
Emmer continued, “For the future blockchain Decentralized Finance (Defi), and American’s support for innovation and emerging technologies, it’s imperative that we provide the framework for this technology to thrive, without being limited by outdated rules and overregulation.”
Congressman Soto said the re-introduction of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act is extremely timely in the wake of crypto and infrastructure bill discussion. Custody is an incredibly main issue that needs to be considered when defining which regulations apply to who.
Cryptocurrency policy needs calibrating regulations specifically for activities that present risks that should be mitigated. Jerry Brito, Executive Director of Coin center said, “The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act would reinforce in law the established understanding that non-custodial services such as mining or providing wallet software, should not be regulated in the same way as something like running a custodial cryptocurrency exchange.”
The Blockchain Association Executive Director Kristin Smith said that she is feeling proud to support the reintroduction. Moreover, the reintroduction of this bill is also supported by the Chamber of Digital Commerce and Blockchain association.
In July, Emmer introduced a new bill to provide certainty for digital assets. Bill aims to provide a clear definition of assets like digital token and emerging technology under securities law.
