Author: Weilin, PANews
In the early morning of February 5th Beijing time, David Sacks, the White House's Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency Supervisor, held the first press conference on digital assets in the Capitol Hill with several U.S. Congress legislators, detailing the latest plans of the White House and Congress to develop digital assets in the United States.
Sacks stated at the conference that he looks forward to collaborating with Congress legislators to "create a golden age of digital assets". He revealed that they are evaluating the Bitcoin reserve proposal, although it is still in the early stages.
On the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) side, reports indicate that the Commission is downsizing the specialized team that was responsible for cryptocurrency enforcement actions, and reassigning some lawyers to other departments, marking a shift in the SEC's approach to cryptocurrency regulation. Meanwhile, the SEC has launched a website for its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, and the unit's head, Hester Peirce, has outlined ten priority tasks, focusing on the classification and regulation of crypto assets.
David Sacks: Looks forward to "creating a golden age of digital assets", evaluating Bitcoin reserve proposal
Sacks emphasized at the press conference that he looks forward to collaborating with Congress to jointly "create a golden age of digital assets". This press conference also invited Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, and House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson.
These committees are forming a bicameral committee to lead the cryptocurrency regulatory work, planning to build on the market structure legislation "FIT21" bill passed in the House Financial Services Committee last year, and combine it with the new stablecoin bill introduced by Senator Bill Hagerty on February 4th, to drive a new round of legislation. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott stated that he plans to "push as actively as possible" to pass these bills in the Senate within the first 100 days.
Sacks also confirmed that the President's Digital Assets Working Group, established under the Trump executive order, will first examine the feasibility of Bitcoin reserves, but he pointed out that this initiative is still in the early stages, as some members of the working group have not yet been confirmed.
Senator Bill Hagerty Introduces New Stablecoin Bill GENIUS
As mentioned above, on February 4th, U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty introduced a bill aimed at creating a regulatory framework for stablecoins, bringing tokens like Tether and USD Coin under the Federal Reserve's regulatory rules.
The stablecoin bill aims to create "a safe and growth-friendly regulatory framework to unleash innovation" and advance President Trump's commitment to making the United States the "global capital of cryptocurrency".
Hagerty's "Guidance and Establishing National Standards for Innovative and Evolving New Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act" has the support of Senators Tim Scott, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Cynthia Lummis.
Hagerty added on X platform that he looks forward to working with Congressman French Hill and the House Financial Services Committee to "get it (the bill) to the President's desk and signed into law".
Hagerty's stablecoin bill is based on the discussion draft he submitted for former Congressman Patrick McHenry's "Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act" last October.
The key elements of the GENIUS Act include:
- Defining payment stablecoins as a digital asset used for payments or settlement that is pegged to a fixed currency value;
- Establishing clear procedures for institutions seeking to issue stablecoins to obtain a license;
- Implementing reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers and setting lightweight, customized regulatory standards;
- Applying the Federal Reserve's regulatory framework for depository institutions and the OCC's framework for non-bank issuers to issuers with over $10 billion in stablecoins;
- Allowing state-level regulation of issuers with less than $10 billion in market value, with an exemption process for those exceeding the threshold to continue state-level regulation;
- Establishing a clear regulatory, examination, and enforcement mechanism with defined limitations.
According to CoinGecko data, Tether (USDT) and Circle's USD Coin (USDC) are the only two stablecoins with a market value exceeding $10 billion currently.
Stablecoin issuers will also be required to provide monthly audited reserve reports, with the potential for criminal penalties for submitting false information.
SEC Launches Crypto Special Task Force Website, Adjusts Regulatory Strategy
On February 5th, according to the New York Times, five people familiar with the matter revealed that the SEC has downsized a specialized team of over 50 lawyers and staff that was previously dedicated to cryptocurrency enforcement actions. This is one of the first concrete measures taken by the Trump administration and its government to reduce regulation of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. One of Trump's first executive orders aimed to promote the development of cryptocurrencies and "eliminate overregulation of digital assets".
The sources said that some lawyers from the cryptocurrency team are being reassigned to other departments within the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A senior lawyer from the team has been moved out of the enforcement division.
Interim SEC Chair Mark T. Uyeda, while making a series of other high-level appointments at the SEC, has also established a group to review the SEC's approach to digital assets. This working group is led by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, an outspoken supporter of cryptocurrencies.
On February 4th local time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a website for its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, outlining 10 priority tasks for the group, including addressing the issue of which cryptocurrencies should be classified as securities rather than commodities, and creating a more "viable" registration path by amending the SEC's existing registration routes.
Other priorities include "clarifying whether crypto lending and staking activities are subject to securities laws" and determining which parts of the market fall outside the SEC's jurisdiction.
At present, as the White House and the U.S. Congress work closely to promote the development of digital assets, the legislative process for cryptocurrency and stablecoin regulation in the United States is gradually accelerating. Although many proposals are still in the early stages, the framework for Bitcoin reserves and stablecoins is taking shape. As the SEC's Crypto Special Task Force undergoes adjustments, it remains to be seen whether the United States can lead global crypto innovation.