Senator Marshall relents
With pressure likely building after former President Donald Trump’s embrace of crypto in recent weeks, Senator Roger Marshall (R, KS) quietly removed his name as a co-sponsor of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s (D, MA) “Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act” [S.2669] on Wednesday according to Congress.gov.
The Warren/Marshall bill had originally been introduced (post-FTX) late in the 117th Congress and then reintroduced in February 2023 in the 118th Congress.
Previously, conservative organizations such as Club for Growth (see the March 2023 letter) challenged the Senator on his decision to co-sponsor and may have also played a part in Marshall’s change of heart.
Sen. Marshall was seen engaging in a Senator Cynthia Lummis (R, WY) Senate Innovation Caucus meeting in April with a16z crypto investor and author Chris Dixon.
h/t @alexandergrieve
what you should know: Senator Lindsey Graham (SC), a strong Trump supporter, is the only Republican co-sponsor left. It would not be surprising to see his name drop off next.
Senate – Majority Leader
Senate Democratic leadership continued to position yesterday that they want a digital asset regulatory framework.
Politico’s Eleanor Mueller reported on X yesterday that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D, NY) told her that “he hopes to pass a crypto bill this year. ‘We’d like to get something done,’ he said. ‘We’d like to have appropriate guardrails.'” Read more (subscription).
Ms. Mueller also confirms that Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow (D, M) is still aiming for a markup of a new version of the “Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act” (DCCPA 2.0) next Wednesday – while Senator Warren doesn’t approve of the bill’s illicit finance provisions on money laundering.
more tips:
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- Today, we announce that Chris Lehane, Paul Clement, and Christa Davies are joining Coinbase’s Board of Directors – Coinbase
Senate – donations
Leader Schumer’s comments speak to the fact that Dem leadership may want to call off the “donation dogs,” too.
The voluminous, crypto campaign “donation dogs” appear to be having impact on Congressional races and even the race for the White House -see former President Donald Trump at Bitcoin 2024 tomorrow. Meanwhile, Dems are led at the conference by Reps. Wiley Nickel (D, NC) and Ro Khanna (D, CA) – Khanna voted to keep SAB 121 in the initial vote and then was one of only a couple of Dems who switched to supporting an override of President Biden’s veto in the vote earlier this month.
more tips:
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- Trump raises more than $4 million in bitcoin, other digital coins as crypto support pays off – CNBC
what you should know: The Senate Democratic digital asset “Renaissance” narrative is quite a change and begs the question: is this truly an effort to pass a digital assets framework (and would President Joe Biden even sign it?) or is it meant to temporarily assuage pro-crypto voters who may be leaning away from Dems in the November election?
Only full passage and signature by the President would confirm the authenticity of the narrative change.
The timeline is unfathomable.
everyday donations
A Wall Street Journal article titled, “Meet the Everyday Investors Who Pledged Crypto to Trump,” brings readers closer to the pro-crypto voter.
Ricky DiMartino of Dallas, Texas, tells the WSJ: “I really wanted to send a message to Trump that bitcoin is a good thing for people, for America, for himself, because he had been critical of it in the past… I wanted to encourage him to see that bitcoin is good.” Read more.
There’s also an example of voter who voted for Trump in 2016, Biden in 2020 and now supports Trump again in this November’s elections.
more co-sponsors
Congressman Darren Soto (D, FL), who originally supported the resolution to rescind the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, is now co-sponsoring Rep. Mike Flood’s (R, NE) ” Uniform Treatment of Custodial Assets Act” [H.R.5741] which performs the same function as the Congressional Review Act resolution.
Other Democrats now co-sponsoring H.R.5741 and did NOT support the original resolution include Reps. Eric Sorensen (IL), Robert Garcia (CA) and Daniel Goldman (NY).
Axios’ Crystal Kim reports on the latest surge of Democratic support for rescinding SAB 121, “What the [Securities and Exchange Commission] has called a ‘guidance memo’ has been criticized by both folks in crypto and in traditional finance for making it prohibitively expensive to provide custody services for digital assets.” Read more.
what you should know: The effects of pro-crypto voters, donations -or both?
UK enforcement
Coinbase fined £3.5mn by UK regulator over ‘high-risk’ customers – Financial Times
the crypto regulator
Alexandra Thornton of the Center of American Progress published an op-ed on Wednesday in the The Hill make the case that current digital assets regulatory frameworks being proposed in the House aren’t cutting it – the SEC needs to be more involved at a minimum. Thornton concludes, “The shortcomings of the CFTC as a crypto regulator, the stalling of the industry’s dream bill and the industry’s recent lobbying sure make the current rush to pass crypto-friendly rules look like a desperate election-year gambit.” Read more.
still more tips
Blackrock foresees “very little interest” in crypto ETFs beyond Bitcoin, Ethereum — Bitcoin 2024 – Cointelegraph
Crypto Miners Are AI’s New Power Source. The Stakes Are Huge. – Barron’s
Jersey City’s pension fund will invest in bitcoin ETFs – The Block
Opinion: How Kamala Harris Could Usher in a Clean Slate for Crypto Regulation – CoinDesk