legislation

According to The Block, as the U.S. midterm elections approach, the digital asset industry may face changes in the congressional political landscape. Over the past two years, the Republican-led Congress passed the stablecoin bill GENIUS Act and advanced the broader Clarity Act; the latter passed the House in 2025 but stalled in the Senate due to controversies over stablecoin rewards and ethical issues raised by former President Trump's crypto wealth. Prediction market Kalshi shows that the probability of the Democrats winning the Senate and the House is 64% and 90%, respectively.The chair of congressional committees holds the power to set the agenda. If the Democrats regain the Senate, Elizabeth Warren will become the chair of the Senate Banking Committee. Ron Hammond, head of policy and advocacy at Wintermute, expects that she will actively use subpoena power and may focus on scrutinizing the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's approvals of new bank charters for Ripple, Coinbase, and World Liberty Financial, which is supported by the Trump family.The election situation in Ohio is also under scrutiny, with former Senate Banking Committee chair Sherrod Brown facing pro-crypto Republican Jon Husted. Fairshake PAC has pledged $30 million to support Husted. Hammond stated that if Brown wins, he may become the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, which could potentially shelve related crypto legislation. In the House Financial Services Committee, regardless of whether Maxine Waters, Sean Casten, or Bill Foster leads, the Clarity Act is unlikely to advance. Lindsay Fraser, chief policy officer of the Blockchain Association, stated that while congressional control may change, the demand for clear crypto regulations will not.

The Blockchain Association stated that it has sent a letter to the leadership of both the House and Senate, urging Congress to advance prudent, bipartisan digital asset tax legislation, and launched TaxClarityforAmerica.com for the public to understand the principles, view congressional progress, and contact legislators.The association noted that approximately 67 million Americans hold and use digital assets, but the current tax system is outdated, leading to uncertainty for taxpayers, excessive compliance burdens, and forcing innovation to move overseas.Its "Digital Asset Tax Principles" include: a meaningful small exemption; taxation of mining and staking rewards as newly created property upon disposal; reporting arrangements that protect taxpayer privacy; tax compliance based on economic substance rather than technical form; and wash sale rules that do not penalize everyday activities while preventing abuse.The association also stated that the House Ways and Means Committee had previously advanced legislation related to digital asset taxation, and Senator Steve Daines has also introduced a Senate version. Congress is in recess until after the elections on November 3, and there remains a legislative window during the short session.

According to Cointelegraph, the Swedish central bank (Riksbank) recently submitted a proposal to the parliamentary finance committee, urging lawmakers to initiate legislative preparations for a potential central bank digital currency—Digital Krona.

The Swedish central bank (Riksbank) has suggested that lawmakers prepare relevant legislation for the potential launch of a digital krona, citing reasons including the European Central Bank (ECB) advancing the digital euro and the increasing use of foreign currency stablecoins.In a letter, the bank stated that the ECB plans to conduct a pilot for the digital euro in 2027 and may launch it to the public in 2029. The Swedish central bank pointed out that if the payment system lacks a digital version of the national currency, its competitiveness may be affected. The bank believes that foreign currency stablecoins, such as those pegged to the US dollar, are widely used for payments within Sweden, which may put pressure on the use of the Swedish krona, but short-term risks are limited. The Swedish central bank estimates that the launch of a digital krona will take at least five years, not including the time required for legislative changes.

Cryptocurrency media Watcher Guru reported that Australia has proposed legislation requiring the reporting of cryptocurrency transactions and the initiation of international tax information sharing.According to the bill, cryptocurrency platforms will be required to report transactions involving Australian residents to tax authorities starting from July 2027.

According to The Block, there has been another personnel change at the White House regarding digital asset regulation, as Patrick Witt has concluded his term as the White House Chief Crypto Advisor. A White House official stated in an email to The Block on Wednesday that Witt's "detail has expired" and expressed gratitude for his work during the Trump administration, wishing him success in the future. Previously, Crypto In America reporter Eleanor Terrett reported that Witt was an employee of the Department of Defense and held a temporary position on the White House Crypto Council.Witt, in his role as Executive Director of the President's Advisory Council on Digital Assets, led the Washington effort to push for the broad crypto legislation known as the Clarity Act. The House version of the bill was passed over a year ago, after which he was responsible for coordinating negotiations in the Senate. However, the Senate version faces multiple obstacles, including disagreements between the banking sector and the crypto industry on the treatment of stablecoin rewards, as well as how to address the conflicts of interest arising from President Trump's substantial crypto assets. The latter became a major reason why the bill failed to pass its first procedural vote last month, as Democrats were concerned that the relevant provisions would not be enforceable, since decisions on whether to take enforcement action against the president would be made by the Department of Justice rather than the states.Witt is the third high-level crypto official to leave the White House. David Sacks, who was in charge of crypto and artificial intelligence affairs, departed in March, stating that his 130-day term as a special government employee had ended; Witt's deputy director, Harry Jung, also left in July.

Bitcoin News posted on platform X stating that the Congressional Research Service pointed out in a new report that since 2017, with changes in presidential administrations, federal regulators have repeatedly changed their stance on whether banks can engage in cryptocurrency activities.The report states that Congress could clarify through legislation to explicitly allow or restrict specific activities to reduce the frequent adjustments in regulatory positions. The report mentions the CLARITY Act: the version passed by the House of Representatives would allow banks to use digital assets or blockchain for activities already permitted by current law; the version reported by the Senate committee would explicitly allow 11 types of cryptocurrency activities, including allowing banks to underwrite and trade digital assets more broadly.

U.S. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that decisive action will be taken to provide regulatory clarity for American investors and entrepreneurs, regardless of legislation, and said "stay tuned."Previously, the CLARITY Act faced obstacles in advancing in the U.S. Senate, and CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig also stated that existing statutory authority will be used to continue advancing the formulation of cryptocurrency asset regulatory rules.

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz stated: If the Clarity Act fails to advance in the Senate vote on Tuesday, the United States may not achieve cryptocurrency legislation for a long time, or possibly never.Novogratz warned: Further delays may force more of the cryptocurrency industry offshore.

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis stated that if the Clarity Act fails to pass in this Congress, the next real opportunity to reintroduce market structure legislation will not come until 2030. Completing this work now could prevent wasting job opportunities, investments, and tax revenue in the coming years.

According to CoinDesk, the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) sent a letter to Senate leadership on Thursday, announcing a shift in its position on the Clarity Act from opposition to neutrality. Association President Troy Wellman and Executive Director Justin Smith stated in their letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that, given the complexity of the bill and the significant details still under review, the most appropriate course of action is to take a step back and allow the legislative process to continue in order to establish a clear, effective, and urgently needed regulatory framework.Previously, the NSA had sent a letter to the Senate Banking Committee in May, warning that Section 604 of the bill would grant "blanket exemptions" to mixers, tumblers, and DeFi platforms from anti-money laundering rules, and stated that individuals might exploit evolving software, algorithms, and AI agents to transfer digital assets without tracking or accountability, engaging in activities such as money laundering, financing terrorism, and evading sanctions. A month after that letter was sent, the White House invited law enforcement organizations expressing concerns about the cryptocurrency market structure bill to meet and discuss how to address the bill's controversies regarding the prevention of illegal finance. Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger also criticized the NSA's opposition stance in a July column, calling the bill "the most significant consumer protection measure in years."The NSA's shift to neutrality removes one of the most outspoken critics from the law enforcement community ahead of the September vote on the bill.

According to Cointelegraph, the California Senate passed Assembly Bill 2409 (AB 2409) with a vote of 40 to 0, followed by the California Assembly agreeing to the Senate amendments with a vote of 78 to 0. The bill has now entered the signing stage, awaiting the governor's decision.The bill will prohibit digital asset service providers from offering meme coins issued or co-issued by federal officials or state and local officials to California residents after January 1, 2027. The bill defines meme coins as digital assets whose value primarily derives from public interest, speculation, or community participation.Meanwhile, according to consumer rights organization Public Citizen, investors in the TRUMP meme coin related to former President Trump have incurred a cumulative loss of approximately $3.2 billion. The Trump family's cryptocurrency business is also considered an obstacle to the advancement of the U.S. Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act).

According to The Block, South Korea's top financial regulator has stated that it will accelerate discussions on cryptocurrency-related legislation and plans to launch the country's version of the "Basic Law on Digital Assets" this fall.The bill is expected to establish corresponding rules regarding stablecoin issuance, licensing for virtual asset service providers (VASP), Bitcoin ETFs, and other matters.

The Central Cybersecurity and Informatization Commission issued the "Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of Internet and Information Enterprises (2026-2030)."It mentions strengthening the construction of cyber rule of law. Actively carry out forward-looking research on legislation in the field of internet and information. Accelerate the legislative process in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, anti-cyber violence, digital economy, online platforms, and blockchain.Promote the revision of the "Internet Information Service Management Measures," improve the legal system for internet information service management, "self-media" management, and algorithm governance. Advance the formulation of the Telecommunications Law, Cybercrime Prevention Law, and Cybersecurity Level Protection Regulations, and improve the supporting regulations for the "Regulations on the Protection of Minors Online" and "Regulations on the Management of Cyber Data Security."Standardize administrative inspections involving internet and information enterprises, minimizing interference with the normal production and operational activities of internet and information enterprises. Improve supervision and law enforcement measures that adapt to the new characteristics of internet development governance, and severely crack down on illegal and irregular activities online.

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders urged leading AI company CEOs to pause AI development and warned that if action is not taken, lawmakers will intervene.