- Outgoing chairman Patrick McHenry believes a stablecoin bill can be agreed upon this year
- McHenry expressed optimism for bipartisan cooperation at a recent Bitcoin Policy Institute event in Washington
- Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis announced a new stablecoin bill at the same event
Outgoing chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry, has stated his belief that a stablecoin bill can be agreed this year. Speaking at a Bitcoin Policy Institute event in Washington, McHenry expressed optimism over the possibility of politicians agreeing on a bill, stating that achieving stablecoin regulation would signal bipartisan cooperation in the realm of digital assets. The bill in question may turn out to be the one announced by senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis at the same event.
McHenry Says the Window Remains Open
While individual senators have proposed legislation addressing stablecoins in recent years, the Senate Banking Committee has yet to take up the issue. McHenry has been engaged in negotiations with members of both parties and House Democrats for months, and although a bill cleared his committee with bipartisan support in 2023, resistance from the administration and Representative Maxine Waters has posed challenges regarding federal oversight of stablecoin issuers.
Nevertheless, McHenry, who retires from his position at the end of the year, is still confident that the two sides can come together and get the job done:
I think we can get our stablecoin policy set through and signed into law. That will be the first sign that there is hope and that there is bipartisanship when it comes to this world of digital assets.
New Bill Could be the Answer
McHenry’s optimism may be connected to the new bill proposed yesterday by Gillibrand and Lummis, which the former said carries the lofty goal of “unlocking the potential of crypto and the original aim of bitcoin as a means of payment.”
Gillenbrand added that the pair “worked with the Fed, Treasury and the New York State Department of Financial Services to allow nondepository institutions to issue stablecoins while promoting safety and soundness within the industry.” If the bill becomes law, stablecoin issuers would have two options: banks could issue stablecoins with federal or state charters, or the federal government would supervise non-bank institutions while states still regulate them.
