For the cryptocurrency industry, US regulatory clarity is what it has been waiting for, and they think they are finally having it with Senator John Thune, the new Senate Majority Leader of South Dakota. In November, Thune defeated fellow Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who got the backing of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other billionaire tech magnates.
But in a victory speech, Thune promised he would work to fix the nation’s economic woes. The crypto community will want to support them, he signalled that he is ready to run a pro-business campaign of rolling back Biden-Harris regulations and streamlining the bureaucratic machine.
Thune’s crypto-friendly policy history has long been in line with industry advocates. He’s long been a proponent of eliminating regulatory burdens and has pushed for the Commerce Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to be given regulatory jurisdiction over the cryptocurrency industry. Wall Street players broadly see this as a possible way around the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) more restrictive approach.
Thune’s Support for Crypto: Co-Sponsoring DCCPA and Gaining Industry Backing
Thune co-sponsored the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA) this year, a bill that would move the CFTC to oversee the Bitcoin and Ethereum of cryptocurrency. The bill aimed to bring these digital currencies within the fold of commodities rather than securities, relocating their oversight from the SEC, the watchdog of crypto regulation that has shown much more aggressive opposition.
Not surprisingly, it wasn’t perfect, but the DCCPA became a ‘pivotal step’ in many people’s minds to laying down some guiding rules, even if a few thought there could be some more clarifying and refining in order. That’s why the crypto community is optimistic Thune will lead, given his advocacy for the bill.
The city’s most prominent industry voices have praised Thune’s pro-crypto stance. Coinbase’s *Stand With Crypto* lobbying group says Thune, a ‘strong crypto supporter,‘ is ‘standing up strong’ for the digital assets industry.
Besides helping work on the DCCPA, Thune also played a part in a lawsuit against SEC rules that some say restrict crypto innovation. Yet two months earlier, he also voted to reverse an SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 11), which required crypto custodians to list their customer assets as liabilities on their balance sheet. This vote shows where he stands with the industry and where he stands on removing barriers to entry for crypto businesses.
Although Trump supported Thune’s broader political agenda by never endorsing the former president for Senate Majority Leader, he never supported Thune. The fact that Trump isn’t behind it is notable, and Trump has expressed support for several of the President-elect’s priorities. It was a break with the loyalty that Republicans generally expect of their members.
But whereas Rick Scott, the Republican he was challenging, was backed by several of Trump’s allies, including Musk, and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Musk has dined with, Scott was a Crypto advocate who pushed for legislation allowing U.S. retirement plans to include exposure to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. In previous cycles, he had teamed with Pro Bitcoin Senator Cynthia Lummis on this issue, making him a top candidate for crypto advocacy in the Senate.
With Thune stepping up to the plate to replace Sullivan and lacking exemplary state leadership in office, crypto hopefuls are rooting for more regulatory clarity and better conditions for digital assets by Thune. The cryptocurrency sector continued to grow, and those who support it might have more influence on Congress enthusiasm to modernize financial regulations could increase under Thune’s leadership.
Thune’s rise in the Senate gives the crypto industry hope that future legislation will promote innovation, protect investors, and create a stable foundation for blockchain in the U.S. However, it could also provide some badly needed stability to the sector, which has been uncertain for years.
The crypto community will watch Thune as he moves through the U.S. Senate, hoping he will support it more and get more straightforward regulatory guidance in the months ahead.
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