A spending deal unveiled by congressional leaders Tuesday—a so-called stopgap Christmas Tree bill packed with several pre-holiday additions—aims to prevent a government shutdown. But it also includes a relatively new initiative related to cryptocurrencies.
Hidden within a 1,547-page bill that would keep the government funded until March 14, 2025, the legislative package currently includes the “American Blockchain Implementation Act,” a measure that would allow the US Department of Commerce .make policy recommendations while forming a government. group backed by industry experts on Capitol Hill.
First passed in the House of Representatives in May, the bill requires the Department to “support U.S. leadership in the use of blockchain technology,” according to a description of the original legislation. While establishing definitions for terms such as “blockchain technology” and “tokenization,” the bill also requires the Secretary of the Department to “serve as principal advisor” to the President on matters related to cryptocurrencies, along with a new advisory committee.
Rep. Larry Buchson (R-IN) co-sponsored the American Blockchain Deployment Act when it was first introduced in 2023, and said Decipher that its inclusion in the interim funding bill was the result of bipartisan negotiations.
“Blockchain technology and other distributed ledger technologies have many potential applications to help drive innovation and economic growth,” Buchson said. “This bill represents an important step in reaffirming the United States as the best place in the world for companies to develop and implement these blockchain technologies throughout the economy.”
Among several initiatives, the “National Advisory Committee on Blockchain Implementation” would evaluate how federal agencies could benefit from blockchain technology and tokenization, a process that refers to the creation of digital representations for assets on a public blockchain.
The new committee would also explore how blockchain technology could “promote the national security” of the US, while providing regular reports to lawmakers on cryptocurrency-related issues, ranging from potential policy measures to the competitiveness of cryptocurrencies. USA in the cryptosphere.
The result is that President-elect Donald Trump selected Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick will serve as Commerce Secretary next month. Although Fitzgerald reportedly hoped to serve as U.S. Treasury Secretary, passage of the interim bill could put the Tie-bound bitcoin bull in a position of power with the explicit task of promoting the use of cryptocurrency-related technology in the US.
If confirmed by the Senate, the bill would give Lutnick the authority to appoint members of the advisory committee, which will “include” government employees, but also developers, cybersecurity experts and even artists, according to the bill. provisional financing. text.
If the measure passes as part of the interim funding bill, then the new committee could also outlive Trump’s term, with a lifespan of seven years.
Missing from the spending bill is cryptocurrency legislation passed by lawmakers earlier this year, including a cryptocurrency. market structure bill passed in the House, and a repeal of regulatory guidance on banks’ ability to custody digital assets that was finally banned by President Joe Biden.
Have you ever seen a bigger piece of pork? pic.twitter.com/ZesFCNSNKp
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2024
If lawmakers in the House and Senate fail to pass the bill by midnight Friday, the government would face a partial shutdown this weekend, according to Reuters.
However, with influential members of the president-elect’s inner circle, such as technology CEO Elon Musk, already criticizing the sprawling bill, it’s unclear what form the final deal could take.
“Have you ever seen a bigger piece of pork?” Musk wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), posting an image of the physical invoice.
Edited by Andrew Hayward.
