1) This week in Congress and crypto: This is the week nearly everyone in crypto and Capitol Hill has waited long for: SEC Chair and the other SEC commissioners will testify tomorrow @FinancialCmte and Wednesday @SenateBanking. Usually this is a quieter hearing, but not this year: 2) Let’s break down what’s typical here and what makes these oversight hearings different. First, the SEC Chair usually testifies in front of these committees annually, so these hearings are standard. Gensler has also privately met with policymakers over the past few months too.

1) This week in Congress and crypto: Without a doubt, this is the biggest week for crypto in DC! There's a crypto bill currently sitting on the President's desk, a full House floor vote on the comprehensive market structure bill, and a decision on the ETH ETF. Here's the latest: 2) SAB 121 CRA - In a surprise to everyone in DC, the SAB 121 vote garnered 60 votes in the Senate. It now sits on the President's desk waiting for Biden's decision, and he has until May 28th. The Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader both voted in support.

1) This week in Congress and crypto: The Crypto May Momentum is building in DC. Last week the House moved to repeal SAB 121, Senate is up this week. This week we have another bipartisan Commerce blockchain bill up for a vote and next week is the big one...FIT/market structure. 2) There is a lot to cover so will try my best to be concise. First up SAB 121. Last week 21 Ds took a tough vote and joined Rs in repealing the SEC's SAB 121. This is an issue that is important for both banks/crypto and a personal priority for SEC Chair Gensler.

1) This week in Congress and crypto: Between Israel, a shutdown slated for Nov 17 and the hectic speaker's race, Congress is in an unprecedented time. Everything else (including crypto legislation) is on the backburner. These issues will affect crypto policy so here's the latest: 2) Speaker's race is shaping up to be between Rep. Scalise and Rep. Jordan. In the meantime @PatrickMcHenry will hold the temporary gavel. There is a lot of speculation if the House Rs can get to consensus on a speaker. They don't want 15 rounds of votes like January to play out.

1) This week in Congress and crypto: Happy shutdown/Gensler week! While most folks are rightfully focused on the likely shutdown, crypto has a big week in DC. @GaryGensler in front of @FinancialCmte, @brian_armstrong on the Hill, and rumors of a pathway for crypto legislation... 2) Shutdown first. It is seeming more and more likely there will be a shutdown with the fractured House R divisions and Senate going in their own direction. For crypto the longer the shutdown goes on, the more various bills including FIT/market structure and stables get pushed.

1) Crypto Legislation Vote Recap: If you didn't spend the 20+ hours watching the various vote series on crypto legislation, this recap is for you. This entire week was unexpected on a number of fronts. Since it's Friday, I thought I'd channel my inner @NeerajKA and do some memes: 2) Bill #1: Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (aka the market structure bill). Unprecedented, but this bill passed the @FinancialCmte by a margin of 35-15 with 6 Ds joining the Rs in support. In @HouseAgGOP the same bill was voted out with 0 opposition.

1) This week in Congress and crypto: As of right now, the stablecoin and market structure bills are slated for a vote in the House committees next week. A lot of back and forth behind the scenes, but the Ripple case has made a huge impact on the politics of the bills. Here's why: 2) Off the bat, the SEC has put senior Ds in Congress in a weaker negotiating position. While the case wasn't a full "win" for Ripple, it has significantly weakened the SEC's arguments that 1) legislation wasn't needed and 2) the SEC never lost a crypto case in the courts.

1) This week in Congress and crypto: Even though the Binance and Coinbase lawsuits by the SEC last week were expected, many in Congress are curious about the timing of the enforcement actions. This wasn't the first time the SEC's timing seemed politically motivated for crypto... 2) To level set, the actions against Binance weren't surprising in the slightest. Binance has a shady rep in DC and there are multiple agencies still investigating them including the DOJ. That timing didn't seem suspect. The action against Coinbase was suspicious though.

1) This week in Congress and crypto: Another week, another House crypto hearing except this time it is an unprecedented joint hearing between the House Ag and Financial Services Committee. The topic: Market Structure. No bill draft or principles out yet so here's what to expect.. 2) Joint hearings are rare in Congress. Each Committee fights hard for its jurisdiction and even when they bleed over, rarely do Committees work with each other. That doesn't seem to be the case in the House and that is promising for the 10 AM Wednesday hearing.

1) This week in Congress and crypto: After a busy week of oversight and stablecoins, the House is chugging right along with the 3rd highest priority in the crypto space: market structure. 2 hearings this week in the House on the same day and the exact topic. Here's what to expect 2) Market structure is a vague term but it is an important element of crypto regulation. There are many questions and conflicting messages from the CFTC and SEC about where their jurisdiction starts and stops in the crypto sector. In wake of this confusion Congress is stepping in

1) This week in Congress and crypto: March has been another brutal month for the crypto industry. The one action that has undoubtedly galvanized the industry in DC is the Coinbase wells notice. This is seen as an outright attack on crypto in America and many aren't happy... 2) The Coinbase well notice vs the Binance CFTC enforcement action is an important distinction. On one side an American company has done everything to engage policymakers, educate staff, testify in hearings, and offer solutions to compliance.

https://twitter.com/collins_belton/status/1638662815886999552

1) This week in Congress and crypto: Lots of questions and not many answers. Policymakers have been getting briefed by regulators daily on SVB. This story will be front and center of nearly every policy debate, including crypto, in the banking committees. Here's the latest... 2) It is pretty interesting to watch the trad-fi policy world deal with the sheer information flood that is Twitter. For many crypto folks this is standard, but not as often for trad-fi folks. Regardless, there is MUCH more noise than substance and it is causing problems.

1) This week in Congress and crypto: The crypto carpet bombing continues. There are a number of regulators involved in this crackdown, but none more prominent than the SEC. Gary Gensler's aggressive approach has caused several Democrats to vocally express concerns. Let's dive in: 2) Relentless. That is how best to describe the current regulatory crackdown. It seems like almost every day there is some sort of enforcement action, policy statement, proposed rulemaking, or notable speech. Many times these actions have vague language hinting at more to come.

1) This week in Congress and crypto: It may be Valentine's Day tomorrow, but don't expect much love for crypto in tomorrow's @SenateBanking hearing. It's not just Congress, the banking regulators have been launching a full-court press against US crypto firms. Let's dive in... 2) The pace of new rules/guidance/legislation/hearings has been relentless in 2023. The most surprising of the developments is the aggressiveness of the federal banking regulators who seem keen on making crypto companies single for 2023 in terms of their banking relationships.

1) This week in Congress and crypto: The first day of the 118th Congress has arrived! It is no secret, the crypto industry is in the crosshairs of Congress after the FTX fallout. This Congress presents challenges and opportunities though so here is the latest from the ground... 2) One word to summarize how things are right now for the crypto industry on the Hill...bad. SBF and FTX have significantly setback the industry in DC. Recall, SBF was on the Hill lobbying Congress and the regulators more than any CEO in crypto (and likely financial services).

This week in Congress and crypto: Nearly a year ago, @SBF_FTX testified in front of the @FSCDems. Tomorrow, he will have to answer tough questions about what went wrong, when he was lying and what happens next. These 2 hearings have major implications. Here’s what to expect… 1) Tomorrow is the “Super Bowl” of hearings as John Ray and SBF separately testify before the House Financial Services Committee. SBF will go second and be virtual. These big hearings are different as there are more cameras in the room and every Member is looking for an angle.

This week in Congress and crypto: Last week the @BlockchainAssn hosted our first annual policy summit with industry leaders, regulators, Members of Congress and staff. The timing couldn't have been better with the FTX fiasco playing out in real-time. Here's what DC is saying... 1) Shell shocked. That is the word mainly used by policymakers when describing the FTX fallout. Many met with SBF personally, asked him questions at various hearings, or at least knew how often he was in DC meeting with colleagues. As more reports come in, the anger in DC rises.

This week in Congress and crypto: The FTX drama has captured DC's attention more than anything before, but for different reasons. FTX's approach to lobbying has been scrutinized by the Hill and industry alike. Here's what we're hearing from the Hill and what to expect next... 1) First, it is important to highlight just how present @SBF_FTX was in DC. No CEO (crypto or not) has been personally lobbying in DC to this extent. This access to policymakers and staff was welcomed. Between his personality and apparent success, the Hill largely liked SBF.

This week in Congress and Crypto: It is not too often a podcast is the talk of the town in DC, but the @BanklessHQ debate between @SBF_FTX and @ErikVoorhees was just that. As a former Hill staffer who worked on crypto legislation and current lobbyist, here are some thoughts... 1) There are a number of reasons why the crypto policy realm is unique on Capitol Hill, but one element that I see work time and time again is the pop culture and fast paced nature of it. The @BanklessHQ team did a great job marketing this to be a "can't miss event" and few did.

This week in Congress and crypto: There have been a lot of opinions and threads on the Digital Commodity Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA) from @SenStabenow and @JohnBoozman. I will leave the legal analysis to the lawyers, but let's dive into the main question: will it pass? 1) Regardless of your views on DCCPA, there are a variety of variables to consider on whether this bill gets across the finish line. Next month's election, finalization of the text itself, support from regulators, buy-in from congressional leaders, and most importantly, time.

This week in Congress and Crypto: It is the Superbowl of financial services hearings...the MegaBank hearing. 7 CEOs of world's largest banks will testify twice this week. While this is the most high-profile event, there are several others happening this week. Here's what to watch 1) The Megabank hearing will occur both in the House and Senate on Wednesday and Thursday. Very few hearings pull this kind of attention in the banking policy realm and it is always a blend of actual oversight, scoring political points, and getting substantive feedback.