The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee and two federal financial agencies delayed events related to regulating digital assets due to the winter storm that paralyzed many areas of the country over the weekend.
A spokesman for Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman told Cointelegraph on Monday that the body would push the planned markup for its version of the Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act from Tuesday to Thursday. The bill, called the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, is the committee’s attempt to establish clear rules for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regarding digital assets.
In addition to the congressional delay, the CFTC he said on Monday, a joint cryptocurrency oversight harmonization event with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will also be delayed by two days, from Tuesday to Thursday. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins are expected to discuss “harmonization between the two agencies” regarding digital assets.
While neither notice specifically stated the reason for the delays, they were likely due to the winter storm that hit many areas of the United States over the weekend, causing power outages, icy conditions and flight cancellations. Reports from the field in Washington, DC described “treacherous road conditions” and most schools were closed.
Related: Cryptocurrency bill may be delayed as Senate focuses on affordability: report
The markup event in the Agriculture Committee will be the Senate’s second attempt to address the structure of the cryptocurrency market after Republican leaders on the Senate Banking Committee canceled a markup on a similar bill two weeks ago. Chairman Tim Scott announced that the event would be canceled indefinitely following a social media post from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stating that the exchange could not support the bill as written.
Senate Democrats demand ethical amendments to the market structure
The 11 amendments made by lawmakers in the Agriculture Committee include: expected to be considered for markup include proposed amendments to address potential conflicts of interest with U.S. officials profiting from the cryptocurrency industry and foreign interference.
Senator Michael Bennet introduced an amendment that would incorporate provisions of the Digital Assets Ethics Act into the Market Structure Bill, specifically prohibiting individuals running for Congress or the White House from engaging in digital assets.
To advance through committee, the bill will likely need at least some Democratic support to get a vote in the Senate. However, many cryptocurrency users are speculating that the US government could shut down at the end of January if lawmakers are unable to agree on a funding bill. A work stoppage would also likely delay the development of the market structure in the Senate.
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