Lawmakers in the United States are looking into the crypto space and specifically, the new blockchain regulations. US Congress just brought in two new bills aimed to address the price manipulation of cryptocurrencies and boost the nation's competitive edge in the emerging industry.

Two new bills were introduced on 30th January by the representatives Darren Soto and Warren Davidson.

The first bill is called H.R 922 - Virtual Currency Consumer Protection Act of 2019 which looks into dealing with the price manipulation problem that cryptocurrencies face.

According to the document, the Chairman of the Commodity futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will be required to submit a report which details the potential for digital currency price manipulation, including methods, effects, harm to investors and so on.

In addition, the document puts a label for the term ‘virtual currency’ as something “of value that does not have legal tender status and that functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, or a store of value.”

Now the other bill is called H.R 923 - US Virtual Currency Market and Regulatory Competitiveness Act of 2019.

If this bill is given the green light, so to speak, it would require another report to be published from the chairman of the CFTC, in consultation with commissioners from the SEC. Moreover, other relevant federal agencies deemed it necessary and detailed the means to promote the country’s competitiveness in the field.

This report would include comparative studies on existing United States and global legislation, evaluation of the benefits of digital currency as well as blockchain technology to the US commodities market, legislative proposals, recommendations, etc.

This bill will also need regulators to come up with a new regulatory structure for crypto exchanges which would include federal, licenses, market supervision, consumer protections.

Continuity

The two aforementioned bills come following the introduction of the Token Taxonomy Act. As previously reported by Bitcoinist, the bill proposes that cryptocurrencies should be exempt from being classed as securities and therefore, securities law won’t apply to them after the project become fully fledged networks

We’ve got some time until these bills become acting laws though so don’t hold your breath just yet. It would first have to pass subcommittee action and passed by the House of Representatives.