Pro-crypto lawmaker Hill eyes digital-asset, banking regulation

(Bloomberg) — A powerful House panel that oversees financial regulators and Wall Street is set to appoint a new chairman, with cryptocurrencies and banking regulation at the top of his agenda, as Republicans prepare to take unified control of Washington in January. Are doing.

Representative French Hill, a former banker who worked at the U.S. Treasury Department, bested three other Republicans to win the position on the Financial Services Committee, a position from which he will seek to push sweeping policy changes from the Biden administration. Are planning.

But accommodating Arkansans will have to sail through a weak and shaky House majority to see any legislation across the finish line. And he has recently expressed hesitation about the idea of ​​a Bitcoin reserve, potentially putting him at odds with President-elect Donald Trump.

With his calm nature, Hill, 68, is likely to feel like he will continue the tenure of outgoing Chairman Patrick McHenry, according to Jennifer Shulp, director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute.

“We will see a similar leadership style in terms of trying to work with the other side where possible and trying to find compromise where possible,” he said.

On Tuesday, both McHenry and Hill received a standing ovation at the Blockchain Association summit in Washington. McHenry called Hill “the right person” for the chairmanship and said she has the potential to be a diplomat for “crypto skeptics” in the House.

House GOP leadership has already indicated they want to pass new legislation to clarify crypto regulation in Trump’s first 100 days.

Hill had previously supported legislation to establish clear lines for which agencies regulate digital assets. That bipartisan measure passed the House in May and will help serve as the foundation for what’s to come in 2025.

“We want to work with the Trump administration and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott and try to get everybody on the same page,” Hill said about crypto legislation in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Balance of Power. “How do we move forward?” monday.

Despite Republicans taking control of both houses of Congress and the White House next year, enforcing laws related to digital assets “will still be an enormous task,” Shulp said.

For any legislation to reach its final goal, Hill would have to overcome a narrow majority in the House, including strong differences within her own party. He has recently expressed hesitation about the idea of ​​a Bitcoin reserve, which Trump has supported.

Lawmakers will also face pressure from consumer advocacy groups not to give the digital asset industry a free hand.

“Everyone should be concerned about how the crypto industry used its predatory profits with the intent to buy off dozens of elected officials and then make demands on them,” said Dennis Kelleher, CEO of financial policy think tank Better Markets.

According to Kelleher, the question now is how policymakers will weigh industry demands against the public interest.

Hill founded Delta Trust & Banking Corp., a community bank in Arkansas, in 1999 before joining Congress. Previously, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Corporate Finance during the George H.W. Bush administration.

Hill also focused on foreign policy matters through tenures on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. That experience is also likely to inform their work when geopolitical risks, payments and sanctions intersect with the world of finance.

At a 2021 hearing on global capital markets, Hill focused on whether Chinese companies traded on U.S. exchanges should be subject to greater disclosure requirements about their corporate structures and financial reports. He also called on the US to remain active on the world stage, including maintaining alliances like NATO.

Peter Dugas, executive director of global financial services advisory firm Capco, said Hill’s perspective on America’s role as a global power player “will absolutely matter” for how the next Congress and the Trump administration approach geopolitical risk and its effects on finance. Let’s deal with it. ,

“Payments are going to be the next weapon that people need to pay attention to and understand the potential impact on business, whether an institution should make a loan or invest in a particular firm because of its geopolitical risk,” Dugas said. ”

–With assistance from Kelly Lenz.

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