The U.S. House of Representatives finally passed procedural votes to advance 3 encryption bills

On July 17, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a procedural vote on three significant encryption bills, paving the way for the vote on the "GENIUS Act," "Clarity Act," and "Anti-CBDC Act," which is expected to be voted on again on Thursday local time.

The voting process this time was full of ups and downs. July 14 was announced as the House of Representatives "encryption week", but on Tuesday afternoon local time, the House voted down the advancement of three proposals by 196 votes to 223, with 12 Republicans opposing and expressing objections to the ambiguity of the "GENIUS Act" regarding CBDCs.

9-hour voting breaks record, 3 proposals ultimately advance

The latest vote on July 17 lasted for more than 9 hours, setting a record for procedural voting duration in the House of Representatives. Finally, at around 11 PM, House Resolution No. 580 passed the review of several bills, with a voting result of 217 in favor and 212 against.

The key to solving the problem lies in House Majority Leader Steve Scalise announcing that the CBDC ban will be attached to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), ensuring that the CBDC ban passes alongside the NDAA, which prompted the 8 conservative Republicans who blocked the bill on Tuesday to ultimately change their voting stance.

Currently, among the three encryption-related bills, the GENIUS Act is considered to be progressing the fastest. This bill aims to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins and passed the Senate vote last month. The GENIUS Act may be sent to the president for signature before the end of this week.

The other two proposals include the "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act" ( Clarity Act ), which takes a more comprehensive approach to creating a regulatory framework for digital assets, clarifying the regulatory roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Lawmakers also voted to consider the anti-CBDC bill aimed at preventing the Federal Reserve from directly issuing central bank digital currency to individuals. Even if passed by the House vote, the Clarity Act and the anti-CBDC bill still need to be voted on in the Senate.

The President personally meets with lawmakers to urge the advancement of the legislative process

According to reports, the breakthrough in the stalemate on Wednesday occurred at the last moment of negotiations, when the President called the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson and expressed satisfaction with the agreement reached.

On the morning of July 15, the president stated on social media, "Happy Crypto Week! The House will soon vote on a major bill aimed at making the United States the undisputed global leader in digital assets," urging House members to pass procedural votes.

After the vote failed on Tuesday, on the evening of July 15, the president quickly summoned the opposing lawmakers to the White House and announced that he had persuaded them all to support the measure. On July 16, the president posted that he met with 11 members of the House of Representatives in the Oval Office on July 15 to discuss the legislative rules for the "GENIUS Act" and received unanimous agreement to support the rules the following morning.

The voting process on Wednesday was full of drama. The initial vote ended with 215 votes in favor and 211 against, with a small number of Republicans opposing the rule until a heated exchange of opinions with party leadership on the House floor prompted them to switch their votes to "yes" at the last moment.

However, these staunchly opposing Republicans subsequently withdrew their support in the second "record vote", leaving the House chamber to negotiate with party leadership on a potential agreement to advance legislation, provided that the wording on the ban of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is more clearly revised.

Hardline Republicans blocking procedural votes on the bill are pushing to merge the market structure bill "CLARITY Act" with partisan legislation banning central bank digital currencies. The chairs of the Republican Financial Services Committee and the Agriculture Committee oppose this plan, fearing it would weaken Democratic support for the market structure bill.

After Republican leaders indicated that they would attach measures to ban CBDCs to a must-pass defense authorization bill, Republican rebels dropped their opposition. This agreement was reached following a late-night meeting at the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson.

It is expected that the "GENIUS Act" will be sent to the President for signing within this week, becoming the first major encryption bill passed by Congress, marking a significant lobbying victory for crypto companies.

Overall, the House of Representatives' "Crypto Week" has profound implications for the digital asset space. These bills could not only reshape the landscape of the U.S. encryption industry but also set important foundational precedents for the regulation of future digital assets. As the bills progress and with presidential intervention, will the regulatory framework continue to advance smoothly? Can the U.S. government fulfill its "Crypto Capital" promise? The answers to these questions are worth our continued attention.