A crypto bill sponsored by US Senator Elizabeth Warren is primed to die on the vine, according to the founder of a blockchain trade association.
In a new interview with Peter McCormack, Perianne Boring, the founder and CEO of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, outlines her predictions for Warren’s (D-Massachusetts) Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The bill, which Warren first introduced last year and then again in July, aims to make the crypto industry comply with the same money laundering rules that apply to the traditional financial system. It would, among other things, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) responsibilities, including Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requirements, to crypto wallet providers, miners, validators, and other network participants.
Pro-crypto lobbying groups like Boring’s have blasted the potential legislation, which is currently being considered by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
In her new interview, Boring notes that even if Warren’s bill passes through the Senate, it won’t make it out of the House of Representatives in its current political makeup.
“Someone in the House would have to be willing to bring the bill forward in the House. It goes through the same process, it passes through the House Financial Services Committee first, which this bill would never do. It would never be brought up in Financial Services. Patrick McHenry’s already denounced the bill. He chairs that committee, he’s not bringing it forward. So there’s a blockade that is in the House, so this bill really isn’t going anywhere, at least for now.”
Boring acknowledges, however, that the political path forward for Warren’s bill “could change over time,” potentially increasing the likelihood the act is passed into law.
For example, McHenry (R-North Carolina) announced earlier this month that he plans to retire after his current term, which ends in 2024.
Warren has introduced 331 bills since becoming a US senator in 2013, according to the legislative website GovTrack. Of that total, only one has passed into law, and 10 more were enacted via incorporation into other bills.
