The
result
of
next
week’s
expected
vote
on
U.S.
legislation
to
regulate
the
cryptocurrency
industry
will
strongly
influence
the
odds
the
U.S.
Senate
gets
on
board,
said
Rep.
Patrick
McHenry
(R-N.C.),
the
chairman
of
the
House
Financial
Services
Committee
and
a
leading
advocate
for
crypto
legislation
in
the
waning
months
of
his
career
in
Congress.
The
thing
to
watch,
he
suggested,
is
if
a
lot
of
Democrats
show
up
to
support
the
bill.
McHenry,
who
is
set
to
retire
at
the
end
of
the
year,
has
made
digital
assets
legislation
a
top
priority
for
the
end
of
his
time
on
Capitol
Hill.
To
that
end,
the
House
has
recorded
a
number
of
recent
cryptocurrency
successes,
from
the
passage
of
several
relevant
bills
through
McHenry’s
committee
to
the
advancement
of
a
congressional
effort
to
overturn
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
crypto
accounting
policies.
But
chief
among
the
House’s
digital
assets
endeavors
is
the
Financial
Innovation
and
Technology
for
the
21st
Century
Act,
or
FIT21,
which
is
heading
toward
a
long-awaited
vote
for
final
approval
in
the
House
of
Representatives
in
the
coming
days.
That’s
the
most
comprehensive
U.S.
crypto
bill
to
move
this
far
through
Congress
and,
if
it’s
approved
in
a
bipartisan
vote
in
the
House,
will
represent
a
high-water
mark
for
the
industry’s
efforts
in
Washington.
“We
will
have
this
bill
on
the
House
floor
next
week
for
a
vote,”
McHenry
said
at
the
DC
Blockchain
Summit
on
Wednesday.
“The
outcome
of
that
vote
will
dictate
what
kind
of
attention
it’ll
get
in
the
Senate
and
whether
or
not
we
can
get
something
done.”
However,
the
bill
isn’t
expected
to
find
a
ready
match
in
the
Senate,
so
far,
meaning
it
wouldn’t
immediately
be
on
a
path
to
become
law.
However,
McHenry
suggested
“who
knows
what’s
going
to
happen”
in
the
so-called
lame-duck
session
of
Congress
between
the
November
election
and
the
end
of
the
session,
when
legislation
has
a
way
of
hitching
a
ride
on
unrelated
bills.
Rep.
French
Hill
(R-Ark.),
who
heads
a
crypto
subcommittee
and
is
among
the
candidates
who
could
replace
McHenry
in
his
chairman
seat,
said
at
the
same
event
on
Wednesday
that
he’s
optimistic
about
the
outcome
of
the
House
vote
on
FIT21.
One
of
the
big
reasons:
21
Democrats
chose
to
vote
in
favor
of
overturning
the
SEC’s
controversial
crypto
accounting
provision
–
Staff
Accounting
Bulletin
No.
121,
or
SAB
121
–
despite
President
Joe
Biden’s
threat
to
veto
the
effort.
“I’m
optimistic,
and
I
expect
strong
Democratic
support,”
Hill
said
of
the
FIT21.
“This
one
is
about
the
future.”
Hill
said
it
also
answers
President
Biden’s
executive
order
from
earlier
in
his
term
that
called
for
legislation
in
this
space.
McHenry
agreed
that
getting
so
many
Democrats
to
buck
the
White
House
and
SEC
on
the
accounting
rule
was
“a
significant
thing.”
At
least
one
Senate
Democrat
–
New
York’s
Kirsten
Gillibrand
–
has
said
she’ll
support
the
resolution
to
overturn
the
bulletin
when
it
comes
up
for
a
vote
on
Thursday.