US crypto industry insiders: Crypto legislation is unlikely to progress during the current Congress's term.
Several figures in the U.S. crypto industry predict that Congress will struggle to make substantial progress on crypto legislation in the final weeks of its term. Cody Carbone, CEO of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, stated that the chances of further progress on the Clarity Act for Digital Asset Markets are slim. A few issues remain to be addressed, including crypto tax rules, granting the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) more regulatory authority over the crypto spot market, and accelerating the licensing process for data center construction. Among these, the bipartisan bill related to data center licensing has passed preliminary proceedings in the Senate, but some Bitcoin mining companies disagree on the potential requirement to bear the costs of grid expansion and higher energy bills. Kristin Smith, head of the Blockchain Association, said that with the current Congress having little time left and many tasks to complete, the most important regulatory rules for the U.S. crypto industry are still being formulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the CFTC.