The cryptocurrency industry has high hopes for regulatory clarity in the United States as the Republicans elected Senator John Thune of South Dakota as the new Senate majority leader.
Thune won the Senate majority leader race on Nov. 13, defeating Elon Musk-endorsed Senator Rick Scott of Florida.
“We will work to make America prosperous again by streamlining the bureaucratic machine and overturning costly Biden-Harris regulations,” Thune said in a speech after winning.
Senator John Thune announces Republican agenda to deliver on Donald Trump’s priorities. Source: Senator John Thune
As Thune expressed his readiness to work on implementing the agenda of pro-crypto President-elect Donald Trump, the community is hopeful about the new Senate leader’s contribution to crypto-friendly regulations in the US.
Thune supported a bill to expand CFTC’s jurisdiction over crypto
The crypto community has reason to believe Thune may champion crypto-friendly policies. Thune has previously advocated expanding the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) jurisdiction over crypto regulation, positioning it as an alternative to the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s more antagonistic approach.
In 2022, Thune co-sponsored a crypto bill called the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA), which aimed to extend CFTC’s regulatory powers over crypto regulation.
The bill specifically referred to major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as digital commodities, highlighting CFTC as the competent authority over their regulation and hinting at the SEC’s crypto regulation overreach.
Some crypto advocates referred to the bill as a “pivotal step” to achieving regulatory clarity in crypto, but said it needed further work and clarification.
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In May, Thune also voted for a measure to overturn the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 11), which requires crypto custodians to record customer assets as liabilities on their balance sheets.
New Senate majority leader “strongly supports crypto”
Thune’s stance on this rule has been highlighted by Coinbase’s lobbying group, Stand With Crypto, which describes him as a “strong crypto supporter.”
“He is very pro-crypto,” Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett said in a post on X on Nov. 13.
Thune has a positive stance on crypto. Source: Stand With Crypto
Although Thune expressed strong support for Trump’s priorities, the president-elect did not endorse a candidate in the contest for majority leader, according to CNBC. Thune criticized Trump in the 2016 presidential race.
On the other hand, a number of Trump’s allies — including Tesla CEO Musk, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — endorsed Florida’s Scott in the Senate majority leader race.
Scott previously worked with pro-Bitcoin Senator Cynthia Lummis to introduce a bill to allow US retirement plans to include exposure to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
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