On October 23, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives successfully passed HB-2481, a groundbreaking bill that aims to protect self-custody and crypto payments, eliminate additional taxes on digital assets, and assert the right to operate a node. This bipartisan victory saw a resounding 176 to 26 vote in favor of the bill. However, for it to become law, it still needs approval from the Pennsylvania Senate and the signature of Governor Josh Shapiro.
The masterminds behind HB-2481 are none other than the Bitcoin advocacy group, Satoshi Action Fund. Following the bill’s passage, Dennis Porter, the co-founder and spokesperson for the advocacy group, expressed his thoughts on the matter. He emphasized that crypto advocacy groups are tirelessly pushing for well-defined regulations for digital assets in the United States. However, industry executives have voiced concerns that the US is lagging behind other jurisdictions, like the European Union, which have already established regulatory frameworks.
In a recent statement, Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether, expressed his confidence that crypto regulations in the US would improve after the 2024 election. He criticized US financial regulators, claiming they have “dropped the ball” when it comes to coherent crypto policies.
The ongoing disagreements among different regulatory agencies on how to classify digital assets have created a cloud of uncertainty surrounding the status of this emerging asset class in the United States. Consequently, many crypto firms have started fleeing the country in search of more favorable jurisdictions. Ripple CEO and co-founder, Brad Garlinghouse, warned back in 2023 that US-based crypto companies had already begun relocating to countries like Japan, Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland due to the regulatory ambiguity in the US.
During a Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association meeting on October 19, Rostin Behnam, the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), revealed that the regulatory agency currently feels “handcuffed” in terms of digital asset policy. However, Behnam expressed optimism that this would change with the next administration.