What is FIT21: 71 Democrats and 208 Republicans voted pro HR 4763
The US House of Representatives just passed FIT21, which a third of Democrats supported despite Biden’s opposition.
33.33% of Democrats and 95.85% of Republicans voted in favor of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, or FIT21, which aims to streamline crypto regulation in the US. The then-bill, also officially known as HR 4763, aims to create a clear regulatory framework for digital assets.
As of May 2024, there are 213 members of the Democrat Party and 217 members of the Republican Party, with 5 vacant seats.
One of the bill’s main goals is to set boundaries for regulatory roles of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). With the bill passed, here are their separate roles.
- CFTC — Regulates digital assets if the associated blockchain or digital ledger is both functional and decentralized.
- SEC — Regulates assets and securities if the blockchain is functional but not decentralized.
Despite this, the SEC still has exceptions to regulate digital assets that limit annual sales, restrict nonaccredited investor access, and satisfy disclosure and compliance requirements.
FIT21 says decentralization is categorized as having no single entity controlling over 20% of the digital asset or its voting power. The bill includes the Securities Clarity Act, which clarifies the difference between securities and commodities.
Per Tom Emmer, under the Securities Clarity Act, securities laws currently don’t distinguish between an asset and the securities contract it could be a part of.
Many cryptocurrencies may initially be issued as part of a securities contract, but, once the project is fully developed and decentralized, the token could fall under a different classification, such as a commodity.
The bill marks a historical legislative accomplishment in Congress, providing a clear regulatory framework instead of relying on a 90-year-old securities law that existed before the internet.
Interestingly, Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, was one of those who voted yes for FIT21. Here are the names of the 71 Democrats who voted in favor of the bill.
- Aguilar — California
- Allred — Texas
- Auchincloss — Massachusetts
- Bera — California
- Beyer — Virginia
- Boyle — Pennsylvania
- Budzinski — Illinois
- Caraveo — Colorado
- Clark — Massachusetts
- Costa- California
- Craig — Minnesota
- Crockett — Texas
- Cuellar — Texas
- Davis — North Carolina
- DelBene — Washington
- Eshoo — California
- Gallego — Arizona
- Garcia — California
- Goldman — New York
- Gomez — California
- Gonzalez — Texas
- Gottheimer — New Jersey
- Harder — California
- Himes — Connecticut
- Horsford — Nevada
- Houlahan — Pennsylvania
- Jackson — Illinois
- Jackson — North Carolina
- Kamlager — California
- Kennedy — New York
- Khanna — California
- Kim — New Jersey
- Krishnamoorthi — Illinois
- Kuster — New Hampshire
- Lee — Nevada
- Levin — California
- Lieu — California
- Lofgren — California
- McBath — Georgia
- Menendez — New Jersey
- Moskowitz — Florida
- Moulton — Massachusetts
- Mullin — California
- Nickel — North Carolina
- Panetta — California
- Pelosi — California
- Peltola — Alaska
- Peters — California
- Pettersen — Colorado
- Phillips — Minnesota
- Quigley — Illinois
- Ryan — New York
- Schiff — California
- Schneider — Illinois
- Scholten — Michigan
- Sherrill — New Jersey
- Slotkin — Michigan
- Sorensen — Illinois
- Soto — Florida
- Spanberger — Virginia
- Stanton — Arizona
- Stevens — Michigan
- Strickland — Washington
- Suozzi — New York
- Swalwell — California
- Thanedar — Michigan
- Thompson — California
- Titus — Nevada
- Torres — New York
- Veasey — Texas
- Wild — Pennsylvania
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