U.S. House of Representatives Approved Bill to Study Crypto

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bipartisan bill that requires the study of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies on June 22. The “Consumer Safety Technology Act” approved by lawmakers is centered on consumer protection and includes crypto and blockchain research. More than 300 lawmakers voted in favor of the “Consumer Safety Technology Act”.

In 2020, the House passed this bill and it was then referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Nevertheless, the bill failed to gain approval from the Senate.

The bill approved by lawmakers on June 22, calls for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to deploy a pilot AI program to aid consumer safety inspections. Additionally, this bill calls for the Secretary of Commerce and the FTC to study blockchain technology and crypto.

Lawmakers, crypto, and customers

Jerry McNerney who represents California’s 9th district sponsored the bill. Another member of the House, Darren Soto co-sponsored the bill. In total, two members of the Democratic Party McNerney and Soto, along with Republicans Warren Davidson, Van Taylor, Michael Burgess as well as Brett Guthrie sponsored this important bill.

The recently approved “Consumer Safety Technology Act” includes two other bills related to crypto. One is the Blockchain Innovation Act with parts of the Digital Taxonomy Act which mandate the FTC to report on deceptive acts related to crypto. Darren Soto first introduced the later bill in 2019 but did not receive a single vote at the time.

Hopefully, the Blockchain Innovation Act requires the study of investment trends in the crypto industry. Another goal is to analyze the potential risks and benefits of blockchain technology designed for consumer protection.