Speaker McHenry – questions
Amidst the revolt of a far-right wing minority of House Republicans which caused former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R, CA) to lose his job, House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry’s (R, NC) was elevated to Speaker of the House “pro tempore.”
How’d McHenry get that job? It was a confidential list that McCarthy was required to submit to the Clerk of the House prior to the “motion to vacate” says CNN.
Is he thinking of taking the job long term? So far, “No” – and that’s his word, emphatically, according to Punchbowl News which adds, “However, there’s a large group of House Republicans who would want his services atop the party.”
How about that gavel slam?
Speaker McHenry – digital assets
What does this mean for digital assets?
Delay, probably. Given all the legislative energy getting sucked into the House speaker drama, which includes two digital assets legislation champions in McHenry and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R, MN), consideration of bills, votes and hearings would seem to be pushed back as next week’s speaker election takes priority. The only saving grace: technically, the Senate and House will be in recess next week.
Brewing amidst all, McHenry can only serve as Chairman of House Financial Services through the end of the 118th Congress due to a term limit on the Chair role says Politico: “Under GOP rules, this is his last term at the top of Financial Services, and that’s raised questions about how much longer he might serve in Congress.”
December
In an interview with the Paul Barron Network, Blockchain Association policy executive Ron Hammond sees a December window for blockchain legislation in Congress in the form of an omnibus bill. He adds, “December, end of this year, can be a very important time for crypto – especially for stablecoins.” Hear more.
escape narrative
The crypto industry is trying to escape the long shadow of fraud cast by Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX while looking to create a new path forward with digital assets regulation led by Congress. So says a story late Tuesday from Politico’s Declan Harty who writes, “Now, as the one-time crypto kingmaker’s criminal trial kicks off today in lower Manhattan, the crypto lobby is taking up a different playbook in the nation’s capital. The goal: Divorce the market from Bankman-Fried.” Read more.
Meanwhile, CEO Dennis Kelleher of Better Markets, who has represented the interests of Democratic leadership with his financial markets lobby, took Politico to task on the article’s reference to the 52 million holders of crypto in the U.S. Kelleher tweeted on X, “Come on [Declan Harty] don’t just repeat crypto’s blatantly false claims; [Better Markets] spelled out AGAIN today that those claims are nothing but propaganda based on a rigged poll.”
SEC v Coinbase update
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said on X Tuesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had filed its opposition to Coinbase’s August 4 motion to dismiss the SEC’s case against his company. See the SEC’s October 3 filing (PDF).
Grewal says about the SEC filing: “It’s more of the same old same old. But don’t just take my word for it – take a look for yourself.” He adds, “…over and over again the SEC makes sweeping claims of what the law is/must be without any legal citation.”
blockchain saves metaverse
Capitol Hill staffer Michael Cameron serves up a post on his Byteleg blog “on how blockchains will stop the metaverse from being awful.” He writes, “In a Big Tech controlled metaverse, your digital clothes, house, and avatar are all owned by Big Tech. If they kick a user off their platform, the digital objects would stay behind. In contrast, blockchains would enable users to easily move their digital objects from one platform to another because the ownership doesn’t rely on Big Tech.” Read more.
still more tips
Crypto vs. Banks? It’s Not Either-Or for Chainlink, Ripple – CoinDesk
JP Morgan Crypto Lead: ‘99.9% of Conversations Are About Tokenized Assets, Not Crypto’ – Decrypt
Ripple Secures Major Payments Institution License from the Monetary Authority of Singapore – press release
Sam Bankman-Fried Jury Hears Dueling Narratives as Fraud Trial Begins – The Wall Street Journal
Investigation: Baltic-registered crypto firms service payments for Russian private army, allow sanctions evasion – Kyiv Independent