Congress Members Join New US Fintech Task Force

By Rishma Banerjee

As per recently published news, the U.S. House of Representatives is launching a new task force which will be focussing specifically at financial technology – including blockchain. This new task force, which is to be called the FinTech Task Force, was established by the House Financial Services Committee by a voice vote Thursday and will be looking into blockchain and cryptocurrency tools, among others. The task force will be led up by Massachusetts Rep. Stephen Lynch.

Its initial list of issues takes into account issues like regulating fintech in both domestic and international matters; lending and using “alternative data” for loan underwriting; examining the legal and regulatory frameworks for payments, as well as the infrastructure; and data privacy.

Blockchain proponents Warren Davidson, Tom Emmer and Josh Gottheimer are three of the task force’s new members. Davidson by now has introduced the Token Taxonomy Act to the Congress twice. This is a sweeping bill which is aimed at exempting cryptocurrencies from securities law and providing digital assets with a clearer legal standing in the U.S. Emmer similarly has pushed for a bill that will exempt cryptocurrency startups from state-level regulations, thus enabling them to develop blockchain platforms and services without having to register as a money transmission business in the states they conduct business in – given they don’t hold or trade cryptos.

Gottheimer, who has recently been an active member of the crypto space, co-sponsoring the Token Taxonomy Act after it was reintroduced by Davidson last month.

He, in a statement, said

“As blockchain, new lending options, and other financial technologies continue to emerge, it is clear that there must be a framework in place that not only provides a much clearer path forward for innovation, but also establishes the United States as a leading force in this space.”

Recently, Lynch, Gottheimer, Emmer, Davidson and task force member Bryan Steil, reportedly also added their names to an open letter requesting the Internal Revenue Service to clarify how the tax collector is assessing gains and losses on crypto holdings.

Reps. David Scott, Al Lawson, Cindy Axne, Ben McAdams, Jennifer Wexton, French Hill and Blaine Luetkemeyer are some of the other members of the task force.