This headline ran last week with the wrong copy. The Bulletin is running the correct version and apologizes for the error.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House passed a series of cryptocurrency-related bills last week aimed at clarifying digital asset regulations and curbing the development of central bank digital currencies.
The chamber approved H.R. 3633, the CLARITY Act; H.R. 1919, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act; andS.1582,theGENIUSAct, among other measures.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, supported two of the bills but votedagainsttheGENIUSAct, citing concerns over government- backeddigitalcurrencies.
“Today, House Republicans took a significant step forward to provide a market framework to ensure that Americans can innovate with cryptocurrencies,” Roy said in a statement last Thursday, July 17.
Roy said he supported the CLARITY Act to foster innovation in the crypto sector without fear of regulatory uncertainty, but he highlighted his support for the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act as his top priority.
“This will guarantee that Central Bank Digital Currencies are not permitted in the United States,” Roy said in a statement. “CBDCs would represent a radical attack on the privacy of Americans and would allow government and financial institutions unchecked power over our bank accounts.”
The Anti-CBDC bill, authored by Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn.,wouldbantheFederal Reservefromissuingacentral bank digital currency directly to individuals and is part of a broader GOP push to prevent government involvement in consumer banking tools.
Roy said he opposed the GENIUS Act, which stands for the Generating Entrepreneurship and New Industry in the U.S. Act, because it lacked protections to prevent the development or implementation of a digital dollar.
“I do not believe we should proceed with building out the necessary structures for stablecoins or the development of market structures without the protection against CBDC,” Roy said.
While digital currencies and stablecoin regulation have received bipartisan attention, proposalstobanCBDCshave largely come from Republican lawmakers, who argue such currencies would give the federal government too much control over personal finance.
The CLARITY Act, introduced by Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., outlines a regulatory framework for stablecoins and aims to improve legal certainty for digital asset issuers and developers.
Roy concluded his remarks byemphasizingthatwhileinnovation isimportant,“freedomis the centerpiece of both.”
The bills now move to the Senate.
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