Senator Cynthia Lummis Says US Officials Need More Time To Digest Crypto Regulation Before Signing Bill

Senator Cynthia Lummis says voting for the bipartisan crypto bill she helped introduce in June is unlikely to happen until next year.

In a new interview aired during the Bloomberg Crypto Summit, Lummis says only a part of the proposed Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFI) bill could go through the banking committee this year.

“The part that could go through banking this year is the stablecoin part. Senator Gillibrand and I have components on stablecoin in our bill that relates specifically to how banks could issue stablecoins.

Senator Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania has a bill that would address how non-banks could issue and what requirements would be made of them should they choose to issue stablecoins. That’s something that could go through the banking committee this year.”

She says that it will likely take time before the whole bill gets voted on because of the complexity of the proposed legislation.

“I think, both Kirsten and I believe that the bill in one piece, as a total bill, is more likely to be deferred until next year. It’s a big topic. It’s comprehensive and it’s still new to many US senators and so it’s a lot for them to digest with the few remaining weeks we have in this calendar year to digest such an enormous topic.”

The Responsible Financial Innovation Act aims to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets in the US.

If approved, the legislation will address issues such as the classification of cryptocurrencies, taxes, payments, stablecoins, investor protection, banking laws and interagency coordination.

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