[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6154 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6154
To clarify which Federal agencies regulate digital assets, to require
those agencies to notify the public of any Federal licences,
certifications, or registrations required to create or trade in such
assets, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 9, 2020
Mr. Gosar introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To clarify which Federal agencies regulate digital assets, to require
those agencies to notify the public of any Federal licences,
certifications, or registrations required to create or trade in such
assets, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Crypto-Currency Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Crypto-commodity.--The term ``crypto-commodity'' means
economic goods or services, including derivatives, that--
(A) have full or substantial fungibility;
(B) the markets treat with no regard as to who
produced the goods or services; and
(C) rest on a blockchain or decentralized
cryptographic ledger.
(2) Crypto-currency.--The term ``crypto-currency'' means
representations of United States currency or synthetic
derivatives resting on a blockchain or decentralized
cryptographic ledger, including--
(A) such representations or synthetic derivatives
that are reserve-backed digital assets that are fully
collateralized in a correspondent banking account, such
as stablecoins; and
(B) synthetic derivatives that are--
(i) determined by decentralized oracles or
smart contracts; and
(ii) collateralized by crypto-commodities,
other crypto-currencies, or crypto-securities.
(3) Crypto-security.--
(A) In general.--The term ``crypto-security'' means
all debt and equity that rest on a blockchain or
decentralized cryptographic ledger.
(B) Exception.--The term ``crypto-security'' does
not include a synthetic derivative that--
(i) is operated as, and is registered with
the Department of the Treasury as, a money
services business (as defined under section
1010.100 of title 31, Code of Federal
Regulations); and
(ii) is operated in compliance with all
applicable requirements of subchapter II of
chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code
(commonly referred to as the ``Bank Secrecy
Act'') and all other Federal anti-money
laundering, anti-terrorism, and screening
requirements of the Office of Foreign Assets
Control and the Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network.
(4) Decentralized cryptographic ledger.--The term
``decentralized cryptographic ledger'' means a ledger that--
(A) runs as a stand-alone blockchain that is
secured through a minting mechanism such as proof-of-
work, proof-of-stake, or otherwise;
(B) runs as a cryptographic asset or smart-contract
on an existing stand-alone blockchain and is secured
through the issuing blockchain minting mechanism;
(C) is immutable and can not be overwritten without
controlling a majority stake of the associated network;
(D) requires a cryptographic link between blocks of
transactional data;
(E) is permissionless, requiring no third party to
transact, only a connection to the internet;
(F) is an irreversible bearer commodity, with all
transactions being final;
(G) is not controllable by any one single entity
(defined as having less than half of all nodes
controlled by one single entity); and
(H) is not directly issued by a nation-state or
private entity.
(5) Decentralized oracle.--The term ``decentralized
oracle'' means a service that sends and verifies real world
data from external sources outside of a blockchain and submits
such information to smart contracts that rest on the
blockchain, thus triggering the execution of predefined
functions of the smart contract.
(6) Digital asset.--The term ``digital asset'' means a
crypto-commodity, crypto-currency, or crypto-security.
(7) Insured depository institution.--The term ``insured
depository institution'' has the meaning given such term under
section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
(8) Primary federal digital asset regulator.--The term
``primary Federal digital asset regulator'' means--
(A) the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, with
respect to crypto-commodities;
(B) the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through
the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the
Comptroller of the Currency with respect to crypto-
currencies; and
(C) the Securities and Exchange Commission, with
respect to crypto-securities.
(9) Reserve-backed stablecoin.--The term ``reserve-backed
stablecoin'' means a digital asset that--
(A) is a representation of currency issued by the
United States or a foreign government;
(B) rests on a blockchain or decentralized
cryptographic ledger; and
(C) is collateralized on a one-to-one basis by such
currency, and such currency is deposited in an insured
depository institution.
(10) Smart contract.--The term ``smart contract'' means a
computer protocol intended--
(A) to digitally facilitate, verify, or enforce the
negotiation or performance of a contract; and
(B) to allow the performance of credible
transactions without third parties.
(11) Synthetic stablecoin.--The term ``synthetic
stablecoin'' means a digital asset, other than a reserve-backed
stablecoin, that--
(A) is stabilized against the value of a currency
or other asset; and
(B) rests on a blockchain or decentralized
cryptographic ledger.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHING AREAS OF PRIMARY REGULATORY OVERSIGHT FOR DIGITAL
ASSETS.
(a) Crypto-Commodities.--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission
shall be the primary Government agency with the authority to regulate
crypto-commodities.
(b) Crypto-Currencies.--The Secretary of the Treasury, acting
through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and the Comptroller
of the Currency shall be the primary Government agencies with the
authority to regulate crypto-currencies (other than synthetic
stablecoins).
(c) Crypto-Securities.--The Securities and Exchange Commission
shall be the primary Government agency with the authority to regulate
crypto-securities and synthetic stablecoins.
SEC. 4. REGISTRATION AND PUBLIC LISTS OF DIGITAL ASSET EXCHANGES.
(a) Crypto-Commodities.--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission
shall require any exchange trading in crypto-commodities to register
with the Commission, and shall maintain a public list of all such
exchanges.
(b) Crypto-Currencies.--The Secretary of the Treasury, acting
through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, shall require any
exchange trading in crypto-currencies (other than synthetic
stablecoins) to register with the Secretary, and shall maintain a
public list of all such exchanges.
(c) Crypto-Securities.--The Securities and Exchange Commission
shall maintain a public list of all registered national securities
exchanges trading in crypto-securities or synthetic stablecoins.
SEC. 5. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC ON REQUIREMENTS TO
CREATE OR TRADE IN DIGITAL ASSETS.
Each primary Federal digital asset regulator shall, with respect to
digital assets over which it is the primary Federal digital asset
regulator, make available to the public (and keep current) a list of
all Federal licenses, certifications, or registrations required to
create or trade in digital assets.
SEC. 6. REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO CRYPTO-CURRENCIES.
(a) Tracing of Transactions.--Notwithstanding section 3(c), the
Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network, shall issue rules to require each crypto-currency
(including synthetic stablecoins) to allow for the tracing of
transactions in the crypto-currency and persons engaging in such
transactions in a manner similar to that required of financial
institutions with respect to currency transactions under subchapter II
of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code.
(b) Reserve-Backed Stablecoin Audits.--The Secretary of the
Treasury, acting through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network,
shall carry out audits of each reserve-backed stablecoin to ensure that
such stablecoin is fully backed by currency issued by the United States
or a foreign government.
(c) Transition Rule for Stablecoins.--If an event (including a
dilution event, technical hack, or concerted choice) causes a reserve-
backed stablecoin to become a synthetic stablecoin or for a synthetic
stable to become a reserve-backed stablecoin, the primary Federal
digital asset regulator of the stablecoin shall notify the issuer of
the stablecoin and the public of such transition.
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