US congressional committee advances stablecoin bill

[July 28, 2023]  By Hannah Lang
 
(Reuters) -The U.S. House Financial Services committee on Thursday advanced a bill to establish a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to a traditional asset, often the U.S. dollar.  

The U.S. Capitol building is seen in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

The bill would have the U.S. Federal Reserve write requirements for issuing stablecoins while preserving the authority of state regulators. It was previously modified to address concerns from some Democrats that stablecoin issuers could evade stricter oversight by opting to be regulated under a state regime.

Several Democrats, including Reps. Jim Himes and Josh Gottheimer, joined committee Republicans in voting to advance the bill.

But Representative Maxine Waters, the committee's top Democrat, opposed the bill, arguing it had "major flaws," including a loophole that would allow commercial companies to issue their own money.

Waters and Representative Patrick McHenry, the chair of the committee, had been in discussions about the bill for a number of weeks but were ultimately unable to reach an agreement, McHenry said.

"We had high hopes 48 hours ago that we were going to come to a conclusion and then the White House reviewed where we were and disagreed," said McHenry.

The bill's passage came a day after the committee advanced a separate bipartisan bill that aims to develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and clarify when a token is a security or a commodity.

(Reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

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