Key points of the first digital asset launch conference of the US "Crypto Tsar": Promoting market structure and stablecoin bill, evaluating Bitcoin reserves

Author: Weilin, PANews

In the early morning of February 5, Beijing time, David Sacks, the head of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency in the White House, held the first press conference on digital assets on Capitol Hill, elaborating on the implementation of the U.S. digital assets to develop. latest plan.

Sacks said at the meeting that he looked forward to working with Congressional lawmakers to "a golden age for creating digital assets." He revealed that Bitcoin reserve proposals are being evaluated, although they are still in their early stages.

On the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), there have been reports that the commission is shrinking its team that once was responsible for cryptocurrency enforcement actions and transferring some lawyers, a move marking a shift in SEC in cryptocurrency regulation. Meanwhile, the SEC has launched the website of the Cryptocurrency Task Force, and the head of the Working Group, Hester Peirce, listed ten priority tasks, focusing on the classification and regulation of crypto assets.

David Sacks: Looking forward to the "golden age of digital assets" and is

evaluating Bitcoin reserve proposals

Sacks emphasized at the press conference that he looks forward to working with Congress to jointly "create the golden age of digital assets." The launch also invited Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, Senate Agricultural Committee Chairman John Boozman, House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, and House Agricultural Committee Chairman GT Thompson.

The committees are forming a bicameral committee to lead cryptocurrency regulation, which plans to build on the FIT21 legislation passed by the House Financial Services Committee last year, and in conjunction with Senator Bill Hagerty on February 4 The new stablecoin bill released will promote a new round of legislation. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott said he plans to push the bills “to the best possible” to pass the bills in the first 100 days.

Sacks also confirmed that the President’s Digital Assets Working Group, established based on Trump’s executive order, will first examine the feasibility of Bitcoin reserves, but noted that the initiative is still in its early stages, as some members of the workgroup have not been confirmed.

Senator Bill Hagerty proposes new stablecoin bill GENIUS

As mentioned above, on February 4, U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty introduced a bill to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins, including tokens such as Tether and USDC in the Federal Reserve 's regulatory rules.

The stablecoin bill aims to create “a safe and growth-friendly regulatory framework that unlocks innovation potential” and advance President Trump’s commitment to build the United States into “the world capital of cryptocurrencies.”

Hagerty's "National Innovation for Guiding and Building U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act" was supported by Senator Tim Scott, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Senator Cynthia Lummis.

Hagerty added on the X platform that he looks forward to working with Rep. French Hill and the House Financial Services Committee to “delive it (the bill) to the president’s desk and sign the founding law.”

Hagerty's stablecoin bill revolves around his discussion draft for former Rep. Patrick McHenry's Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act, submitted last October.

The main contents of the GENIUS Act include:

• Define payment stablecoin as a digital asset for payment or settlement, which is pegged to a fixed currency value;
• Establish clear procedures for institutions seeking licenses for issuing stablecoins;
• Implement reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers and set lightweight, tailor-made regulatory standards;
• For issuers who issue more than $10 billion of stablecoins, adopt the Fed's regulatory framework for deposit institutions and the Office of the Currency Supervision for non-bank issuers;
• Allow state-level regulation of issuers with market capitalization below $10 billion and provide exemptions for issuers who exceed this threshold to continue to be regulated by state-level;
• Establish a regulatory, inspection and enforcement mechanism with clear restrictions.

Tether (USDT) and Circle's USD Coin (USDC) are the only two stablecoins with a market capitalization of over $10 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Stablecoin issuers also need to provide monthly audited reserve reports, and submitting false information can lead to criminal penalties.

SEC launches encryption of task force web pages and adjusts regulatory

strategies

On February 5, according to the New York Times, five people familiar with the matter revealed that the SEC has reduced a special team of more than 50 lawyers and staff, which was once specifically responsible for cryptocurrency enforcement actions. The move is one of the first specific measures Trump and his administration has taken to reduce regulation of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. One of Trump's first administrative orders aims to promote the development of cryptocurrencies and "eliminate excessive supervision of digital assets."

People familiar with the matter said that some lawyers in the cryptocurrency group are being assigned to other departments of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. A senior lawyer in the group was transferred away from the law enforcement department.

The current SEC Agent Chairman Mark T. Uyeda has conducted a series of appointments while adjusting other senior positions of the SEC. One of the first things after Uyeda took office was to set up a group to review the method of processing digital assets for SEC. The working group is led by SEC members and blunt cryptocurrency supporters Hester Peirce.

On February 4, local time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched the Cryptocurrency Task Force website page, listing the group 's 10 priorities, including addressing what cryptocurrencies are classified as securities rather than commodities. and to create a more "viable" registration pathway by modifying the existing registration pathways of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other priorities include “clearing whether crypto lending and pledge procedures are regulated by the Securities Law” and determining which parts of the market are outside the jurisdiction of the SEC.

At present, as the White House and the U.S. Congress work closely together to promote the development of digital assets, the United States' legislative process in cryptocurrency and stablecoin regulation has gradually accelerated. Although many proposals are still in their early stages, the framework around Bitcoin reserves and stablecoins is taking shape. With the gradual adjustment of the SEC Crypto Task Force, whether the United States can lead crypto innovation globally is worthy of continuous attention.