A New Crypto Cop in Town?

Late Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee approved legislation that could lead to cryptocurrency being federally regulated. The landmark bill would grant digital asset regulation powers to the SEC, while also imposing new limits on the agency. The legislation will now be considered by the House Agriculture Committee.

Here are other regulatory stories we are monitoring:

• As expected, the Fed raised interest rates on Wednesday—and the agency believes the U.S. will end up avoiding a recession in 2023. “I wouldn’t use the term ‘optimism’ about this year,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said. “I would say there’s a pathway to a soft landing.”
• Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, urged U.S. authorities to cautiously implement the new capital requirements, emphasizing the need to maintain a “level playing field” and prevent any reduction in the global competitiveness of U.S. banks.
• The Minnesota Bankers Association filed a lawsuit against the FDIC, alleging that the agency’s guidance discouraging banks from charging multiple “non-sufficient funds” fees for the same unpaid transaction is arbitrary, capricious, and beyond the FDIC’s statutory authority.
• FedNow, the Fed’s instant payment system, went live this week, marking the biggest upgrade to the U.S. payments system in 50 years. FedNow will speed up payments through banks and also catch the U.S. up to countries that already have similar systems in place.
• Finally, KPMG released its regulatory insights on the SEC’s final rule on cybersecurity disclosure for public companies, which introduces new requirements across cyber risk management, strategy, governance, and incident reporting. Read the publication here.