In 2025, U.S. legislators will once again have the opportunity to make new Crypto Laws. This will be enabled by some new support for crypto from Congress and promises from President-elect Donald Trump that may ignite some movement in that line.
Pro-Crypto Leadership at Congress
Rep. French Hill, a friend of digital assets, will chair the House Financial Services Committee. Hill is prominent in such key crypto legislation as the **stablecoin regulation bill** and **FIT21**, focusing essentially on crypto market rules. Both bills are likely to become priorities in the new Congress.
Ron Hammond of the Blockchain Association believes that lawmakers will take three to four months to settle in before they start focusing on crypto legislation again. Most of those bills will likely make a reappearance as familiar ones.
Stablecoin Rules: A Long-Time Goal
Lawmakers have been trying to create stablecoin regulations for years. Stablecoins are digital currencies tied to stable assets like the U.S. dollar.
- A previous stablecoin bill passed the House Financial Services Committee but didn’t go further.
- One big disagreement is how much power state regulators versus the Federal Reserve should have over stablecoins.
Hill might bring back the House version of the bill. Sen. Bill Hagerty has already drafted a similar bill in the Senate. Experts say there’s only a small chance it will pass in 2025 but better odds by 2026.
FIT21: Regulate Crypto Markets
The FIT21 bill aims to empower the CFTC to oversee crypto markets further while specifying rules for the SEC.
Paul Atkins, Trump’s choice to head the SEC, is perceived to be pro-crypto, and that may conjure the bill with some support. However, the Congress is inundated with other competing priorities like tax reforms and border security, which would hold up progress.
Taxes: Big Talk in 2025
The end of year marks the expiration of Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and taxes are going to be a big talk. This time around, tax on staking rewards is likely to be one of the topics on which lawmakers may deliberate. The proposed bill puts taxation under sale and not when earned.
Strategic Reserve of Bitcoins
Trump vowed to form a strategic bitcoin reserve at the federal level. Sen. Cynthia Lummis is also advocating that the treasury come on board to acquire 1 million within five years. The idea has not received bipartisan support until now.
Challenges lying ahead for Crypto Laws
Currently, Senator Elizabeth Warren is a leading light in the Senate Banking Committee and has her own set of critics against crypto. Her influence can block a few of the favorable bills targeting cryptos. However, her authority is not as strong as that of the former chair, Sherrod Brown.
Crypto Laws: What Next?
Congress is anticipated to circle back to crypto legislation soon in 2025 and think about bringing forth new legislative provisions. Most of such provisions would see focus on stablecoin regulations, market rules, such as FIT21. Others will revolve around tax policies on revenue generated from staking. Although forward movement is a possibility, competing priorities and differences of opinion are likely to sail the process.
However, the crypto industry is waiting to see how things are discussed within that context in determining the future of digital assets in the country.