Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) is a noted cryptocurrency advocate who is the GOP’s latest pick to be speaker of the House and could offer a major boost to digital tokens.
Congress was left rudderless after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was axed by a small group of hard-line members of his own party. Since then, the Republican conference has struggled to agree on a speaker. While Emmer is the conference’s third pick in as many weeks, he is the top pick for many in the cryptocurrency industry.
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Emmer, who has served in the House since 2015, has a distinct record of being at the forefront of Congress’s handling of the crypto industry. The 62-year-old speaker-designate has made a point of meeting with major figures in the industry and crafting legislation to provide regulatory clarity when it comes to digital assets.
Because the crypto space is so new, many lawmakers know little about how it works and the regulatory uncertainty that still plagues the industry. That is one reason why a Speaker Emmer would be a breath of fresh air to the crypto world — legislation and hearings that might have been put on the back burner under other speakers might end up getting more attention.
Emmer, who sits on the Financial Services Committee, is co-chairman of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus — a bipartisan group of about three dozen members committed to advocating blockchain technology, the technology that underpins bitcoin and other digital assets. The caucus also agrees on a “light touch” regulatory approach, a stance that is favorable to the industry.
As part of the Financial Services Committee, Emmer has sponsored some major pieces of legislation related to crypto. Last month, House Republicans advanced Emmer’s bill that would stop the Federal Reserve from issuing its own digital currency, sending the legislation to the House for a vote.
The bill is dubbed the Central Bank Digital Currency Anti-Surveillance State Act and would block the Fed from issuing a CBDC directly to individuals, “ensuring the Fed cannot mobilize itself into a retail bank able to collect personal financial data on Americans,” according to the plan. It also blocks the Fed from indirectly issuing a CBDC to individuals through an intermediary.
Emmer, alongside Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL), also introduced the Securities Clarity Act this year. That piece of legislation is meant to reduce uncertainty for cryptocurrency issuers and investors by clarifying that certain tokens issued by companies are not securities subject to regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“The longer we delay providing this commonsense clarification, the greater risk that this transformative technology is driven overseas, depriving domestic users and investors. This bill will help America remain a technological leader in the crypto space,” Emmer said.
Emmer has also made a number of public statements lauding cryptocurrencies. Coinbase, which maintains a legislative database of lawmakers and their relative support for the industry, gave Emmer its highest ranking.
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“The crypto community will build with or without us,” Emmer said on social media last year. “Congress’s job is to develop common-sense, innovation-forward regulations so opportunities stay here at home and Americans can adopt this technology with confidence.”
Emmer, who is currently serving as majority whip, still has a winding road to the speaker’s office. He can spare losing the support of only a few members in a floor vote.