A key lawmaker in the U.S. House of Representatives said he is optimistic that the recent court ruling, which he thinks limits the power of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will increase support for the cryptocurrency legislation he supports.
Pennsylvania Republican Glenn Thompson, who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, said he plans to formally introduce the bill this week alongside North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
“Ripple's Victory Paves the Way for Cryptocurrency Law in the USA”
Federal judge last week Ripple Labs Inc. XRP token sales of his company are securities and fall under the jurisdiction of the SEC when made directly to institutional investors under written agreements, but not securities when not offered publicly on exchanges.
“The Ripple decision underlined what we've been saying all along, there is confusion about how digital assets are handled under securities laws, and it's up to Congress to step in and provide both certainty and clarity,” Thompson told reporters.
Thompson said he hopes the decision will encourage Democrats to support the plan and even become co-supporters of the bill.
The Ripple decision was widely seen as a blow to the SEC because the agency said most of the tokens offered to individual investors were indeed unregistered securities.
*Not investment advice.