New House Financial Services Committee Chairman Says Clear Crypto Regulations Are Near the Top of His To-Do List

Rep. French Hill says establishing a clear market structure for digital assets is one of his top three priorities as the newly elected House Financial Services Committee chairman.

Hill (R-Arkansas), a staunch supporter of the crypto sector, secured the chairmanship earlier this week, taking over for retiring fellow GOP lawmaker Patrick McHenry (R-North Carolina).

The Arkansas legislator tells CNBC in a new interview that crypto doesn’t currently have “rules of the road” and needs new legislation.

“Under Chairman Gensler, we had just regulation by enforcement. This is not helping America succeed, not helping technological advancement, innovation for web3, the use of blockchain both in publicly traded companies and in financial services.

So that is the top priority for us, and our Majority Leader Steve Scalise has it on his ‘First 100 Days of the House [Agenda]’ is to move a regulatory structure bill for digital assets.”

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler announced that he would step down from his post in January. Under Gensler’s leadership, the securities watchdog launched high-profile enforcement actions against many crypto firms, including industry giants Binance, Kraken, Coinbase, Ripple Labs, Uniswap Labs and Consensys.

Hill has an “A” rating from Stand With Crypto, a digital asset advocacy group backed by top US crypto exchange Coinbase.

The Arkansas lawmaker has criticized the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for allegedly having “pressured banks to sever ties with entire industries like crypto.”

Hill promised in November that the House Financial Services Committee would work with President-elect Donald Trump to halt that pressure and conduct an investigation.

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