U.S. House Committee Publishes Draft Stablecoin Bill – A preliminary version of a possible groundbreaking stablecoin legislation was released by the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, which suggests imposing a suspension on stablecoins supported by different cryptocurrencies and calls for examining a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Available on the committee’s hearing page, the bill marks the first significant crypto legislation to advance in 2023, and it comes after two significant events in the past year that involved stablecoins: the collapse of terraUSD (UST), supported by a token named LUNA, and the temporary detachment of the second-largest stablecoin, USD coin (USDC), from its $1 peg.
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The bill establishes clear explanations for issuers of payment stablecoins, resembling the phrase coined by former Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) when he proposed his own stablecoin bill in 2022. Additionally, the bill proposes a suspension of stablecoins like UST until a comprehensive analysis is carried out. It also requests a study to evaluate the probable consequences of the Federal Reserve issuing a CBDC.
The initial disclosure of the bill was reported by Punchbowl News. A subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a hearing on stablecoins for Wednesday, featuring Circle Internet Financial’s Dante Disparte, who issues USDC; Jake Chervinsky from the Blockchain Association; Austin Campbell, a professor at Columbia; and Adrienne Harris, Superintendent at the New York Department of Financial Services.
The hearing is scheduled for the day following a meeting of the entire Financial Services Committee, during which Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler will testify. According to a spokesperson for Rep. Patrick McHenry, the committee’s chair, the bill has been circulating among lawmakers since last fall. Despite being contacted for comment, a representative for Rep. Maxine Waters, the committee’s ranking member, did not respond.
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