Chair of digital assets subcommittee hopes to see crypto bills ’coming to fruition’ in 2024

United States Representative French Hill, chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, provided the public with an update on how lawmakers planned to move forward with crypto-related legislation in 2024.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) on Jan. 29, Representative Hill said U.S. lawmakers in the House of Representatives had marked up two bills aimed at addressing stablecoins and the regulatory framework of cryptocurrencies and had a “very good working draft” of the latter by the end of 2023. The subcommittee chair said he hoped both bills would be “on the same track” moving forward.

“I still am optimistic that you’ll see those bills come to fruition during ‘24,” said Hill. “I’ve been very pleased with every meeting I’ve been in.”

There has been little movement with the digital asset-focused bills since the U.S. Congress resumed in 2024. The House Financial Services Committee passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act and the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act in July 2023, paving the way for the bills to go to the House floor for a full vote.

According to Representative Hill, a “well-regulated, well-considered” payment stablecoin could be good for the U.S. dollar and international trade. However, he said he wasn’t necessarily supportive of an unregulated central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by a foreign government, adding that the United States could take action to “preserve the importance of the dollar” with a dollar-based stablecoin.

Related: Stablecoin bill is a ‘no-brainer’ — Consensys director on US legislation

Leadership at the digital assets subcommittee, the House Financial Services Committee, and the U.S. House of Representatives could change hands in 2025. All 435 seats will be up for grabs between the Democratic and Republican parties in the 2024 elections. Representative Patrick McHenry, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, announced in December 2023 that he did not plan to seek reelection.

Residents of the United States could see an increase in campaign rhetoric as the election season intensifies in 2024. The likely Republican Party candidate for U.S. president, Donald Trump, said he planned to “never allow” a CBDC in the country if reelected. Trump is currently facing 91 felony charges partly related to his role in allegedly attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

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