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I
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 Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Crypto-Currency Act
4
of 2020’’.
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•HR 6154 IH
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
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In this Act:
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(1) CRYPTO-COMMODITY.—The term ‘‘crypto-
3
commodity’’ means economic goods or services, in-
4
cluding derivatives, that—
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(A) have full or substantial fungibility;
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(B) the markets treat with no regard as to
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who produced the goods or services; and
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(C) rest on a blockchain or decentralized
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cryptographic ledger.
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(2) CRYPTO-CURRENCY.—The term ‘‘crypto-
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currency’’ means representations of United States
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currency or synthetic derivatives resting on a
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blockchain or decentralized cryptographic ledger, in-
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cluding—
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(A) such representations or synthetic de-
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rivatives that are reserve-backed digital assets
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that are fully collateralized in a correspondent
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banking account, such as stablecoins; and
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(B) synthetic derivatives that are—
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(i) determined by decentralized oracles
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or smart contracts; and
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(ii) collateralized by crypto-commod-
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ities, other crypto-currencies, or crypto-se-
24
curities.
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(3) CRYPTO-SECURITY.—
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•HR 6154 IH
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘crypto-secu-
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rity’’ means all debt and equity that rest on a
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blockchain or decentralized cryptographic ledg-
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er.
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(B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘‘crypto-secu-
5
rity’’ does not include a synthetic derivative
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that—
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(i) is operated as, and is registered
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with the Department of the Treasury as, a
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money services business (as defined under
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section 1010.100 of title 31, Code of Fed-
11
eral Regulations); and
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(ii) is operated in compliance with all
13
applicable requirements of subchapter II of
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chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code
15
(commonly referred to as the ‘‘Bank Se-
16
crecy Act’’) and all other Federal anti-
17
money
laundering,
anti-terrorism,
and
18
screening requirements of the Office of
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Foreign Assets Control and the Financial
20
Crimes Enforcement Network.
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(4) DECENTRALIZED
CRYPTOGRAPHIC
LEDG-
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ER.—The term ‘‘decentralized cryptographic ledger’’
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means a ledger that—
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•HR 6154 IH
(A) runs as a stand-alone blockchain that
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is secured through a minting mechanism such
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as proof-of-work, proof-of-stake, or otherwise;
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(B) runs as a cryptographic asset or
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smart-contract on an existing stand-alone
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blockchain and is secured through the issuing
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blockchain minting mechanism;
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(C) is immutable and can not be overwrit-
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ten without controlling a majority stake of the
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associated network;
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(D) requires a cryptographic link between
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blocks of transactional data;
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(E) is permissionless, requiring no third
13
party to transact, only a connection to the
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internet;
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(F) is an irreversible bearer commodity,
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with all transactions being final;
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(G) is not controllable by any one single
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entity (defined as having less than half of all
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nodes controlled by one single entity); and
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(H) is not directly issued by a nation-state
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or private entity.
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(5) DECENTRALIZED ORACLE.—The term ‘‘de-
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centralized oracle’’ means a service that sends and
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verifies real world data from external sources outside
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•HR 6154 IH
of a blockchain and submits such information to
1
smart contracts that rest on the blockchain, thus
2
triggering the execution of predefined functions of
3
the smart contract.
4
(6) DIGITAL ASSET.—The term ‘‘digital asset’’
5
means a crypto-commodity, crypto-currency, or
6
crypto-security.
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(7) INSURED DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION.—The
8
term ‘‘insured depository institution’’ has the mean-
9
ing given such term under section 3 of the Federal
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Deposit Insurance Act.
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(8) PRIMARY FEDERAL DIGITAL ASSET REGU-
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LATOR.—The term ‘‘primary Federal digital asset
13
regulator’’ means—
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(A) the Commodity Futures Trading Com-
15
mission, with respect to crypto-commodities;
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(B) the Secretary of the Treasury, acting
17
through the Financial Crimes Enforcement
18
Network, and the Comptroller of the Currency
19
with respect to crypto-currencies; and
20
(C) the Securities and Exchange Commis-
21
sion, with respect to crypto-securities.
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(9) RESERVE-BACKED STABLECOIN.—The term
23
‘‘reserve-backed stablecoin’’ means a digital asset
24
that—
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•HR 6154 IH
(A) is a representation of currency issued
1
by the United States or a foreign government;
2
(B) rests on a blockchain or decentralized
3
cryptographic ledger; and
4
(C) is collateralized on a one-to-one basis
5
by such currency, and such currency is depos-
6
ited in an insured depository institution.
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(10) SMART CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘smart con-
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tract’’ means a computer protocol intended—
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(A) to digitally facilitate, verify, or enforce
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the negotiation or performance of a contract;
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and
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(B) to allow the performance of credible
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transactions without third parties.
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(11) SYNTHETIC STABLECOIN.—The term ‘‘syn-
15
thetic stablecoin’’ means a digital asset, other than
16
a reserve-backed stablecoin, that—
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(A) is stabilized against the value of a cur-
18
rency or other asset; and
19
(B) rests on a blockchain or decentralized
20
cryptographic ledger.
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SEC. 3. ESTABLISHING AREAS OF PRIMARY REGULATORY
22
OVERSIGHT FOR DIGITAL ASSETS.
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(a) CRYPTO-COMMODITIES.—The Commodity Fu-
24
tures Trading Commission shall be the primary Govern-
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•HR 6154 IH
ment agency with the authority to regulate crypto-com-
1
modities.
2
(b) CRYPTO-CURRENCIES.—The Secretary of the
3
Treasury, acting through the Financial Crimes Enforce-
4
ment Network, and the Comptroller of the Currency shall
5
be the primary Government agencies with the authority
6
to regulate crypto-currencies (other than synthetic
7
stablecoins).
8
(c) CRYPTO-SECURITIES.—The Securities and Ex-
9
change Commission shall be the primary Government
10
agency with the authority to regulate crypto-securities and
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synthetic stablecoins.
12
SEC. 4. REGISTRATION AND PUBLIC LISTS OF DIGITAL
13
ASSET EXCHANGES.
14
(a) CRYPTO-COMMODITIES.—The Commodity Fu-
15
tures Trading Commission shall require any exchange
16
trading in crypto-commodities to register with the Com-
17
mission, and shall maintain a public list of all such ex-
18
changes.
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(b) CRYPTO-CURRENCIES.—The Secretary of the
20
Treasury, acting through the Financial Crimes Enforce-
21
ment Network, shall require any exchange trading in
22
crypto-currencies (other than synthetic stablecoins) to reg-
23
ister with the Secretary, and shall maintain a public list
24
of all such exchanges.
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•HR 6154 IH
(c) CRYPTO-SECURITIES.—The Securities and Ex-
1
change Commission shall maintain a public list of all reg-
2
istered national securities exchanges trading in crypto-se-
3
curities or synthetic stablecoins.
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SEC. 5. AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC
5
ON REQUIREMENTS TO CREATE OR TRADE IN
6
DIGITAL ASSETS.
7
Each primary Federal digital asset regulator shall,
8
with respect to digital assets over which it is the primary
9
Federal digital asset regulator, make available to the pub-
10
lic (and keep current) a list of all Federal licenses, certifi-
11
cations, or registrations required to create or trade in dig-
12
ital assets.
13
SEC.
6.
REQUIREMENTS
RELATED
TO
CRYPTO-CUR-
14
RENCIES.
15
(a) TRACING OF TRANSACTIONS.—Notwithstanding
16
section 3(c), the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through
17
the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, shall issue
18
rules to require each crypto-currency (including synthetic
19
stablecoins) to allow for the tracing of transactions in the
20
crypto-currency and persons engaging in such transactions
21
in a manner similar to that required of financial institu-
22
tions with respect to currency transactions under sub-
23
chapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code.
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•HR 6154 IH
(b) RESERVE-BACKED STABLECOIN AUDITS.—The
1
Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the Financial
2
Crimes Enforcement Network, shall carry out audits of
3
each reserve-backed stablecoin to ensure that such
4
stablecoin is fully backed by currency issued by the United
5
States or a foreign government.
6
(c) TRANSITION RULE FOR STABLECOINS.—If an
7
event (including a dilution event, technical hack, or con-
8
certed choice) causes a reserve-backed stablecoin to be-
9
come a synthetic stablecoin or for a synthetic stable to
10
become a reserve-backed stablecoin, the primary Federal
11
digital asset regulator of the stablecoin shall notify the
12
issuer of the stablecoin and the public of such transition.
13
Æ
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