The U.S. House of Representatives has rejected a Senate-passed bill aimed at funding the government, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy's proposals have so far failed to gain support among far-right lawmakers in the House; All actions suggest that the US government is heading towards at least a partial shutdown starting October 1.
A US government shutdown, which occurs when Congress fails to pass legislation to fund the next fiscal year, would effectively prevent all federal agencies and departments from doing anything deemed “non-essential.” Even if the shutdown lasted only a few hours (one in February 2018 lasted less than a day), cryptocurrency bills may take a backseat to other policies among lawmakers once business resumes.
Bills for the good or bad of digital assets would stop amid a shutdown, and financial regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, would operate with a skeleton team. After the close of 2019, Cointelegraph reported that SEC officials had limited enforcement and monitoring capabilities.
“Following a shutdown, it is unclear what issues will be at the top of the priority list in terms of capturing the interest of Congress,” Sheila Warren, executive director of the Crypto Council for Innovation, told Cointelegraph. "In addition to funding the government, Congress faces a series of legal deadlines that will require additional legislative action before the end of the year."
In July, lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee voted to pass the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT) Act, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, the Payment Clarity Act of Stablecoins and the Keep Your Coins Law. If a shutdown occurs, no action can be taken. taken on these crypto-focused bills – no amendments, no votes in plenary.
Warren suggested that congressional priorities could easily shift from cryptocurrencies to any number of issues that arise amid the shutdown, and there will likely be additional distractions as the 2024 elections approach. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also expressed his opposition to “the lack of action by House Republicans” in a September 29 speech, stating that a shutdown was “dangerous and unnecessary” and could “cause economic headwinds” in the future.
If a government shutdown occurs, much vital work in science and health could be affected, from cancer research to food security.
The American people need House Republicans to do their job: fund the government.
–Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 28, 2023
Related: US Government Shutdown Looms: 5 Things You Should Know About Bitcoin This Week
Before any bill was introduced in the House, many Democratic members of the House Financial Services Committee Republicans strongly criticized at a Sept. 27 hearing, although the focus was intended to be on SEC oversight. Virginia Representative Don Beyer was one of the few Democrats pushing a bill related to cryptocurrencies amid concerns about government funding, but lawmakers are unlikely to take up the legislation before Oct. 1.
“The impending shutdown highlights how difficult it is to pass any critical legislation in a divided Congress,” Blockchain Association government relations director Ron Hammond told Cointelegraph. "For cryptocurrency legislation, the longer the shutdown, the less time Congress will have." vote on proposals such as stablecoins and market structure. But the good news is that the various cryptocurrency bills in the House have strong bipartisan support and will likely go into effect in November.”
At the time of publication, the price of Bitcoin (btc) had fallen below $27,000, but did not appear to be correlated with any news of congressional spending bills or the SEC coming ahead of schedule on delay decisions for Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds. On the contrary, the price of Ether (ETH) surpassed the $1,600 level in the last three days as companies announced his intention launch ETFs linked to Ether futures the first week of October.
Magazine: The US Government Ruined My $250,000 Bitcoin Price Prediction – Tim Draper, Hall of Flame
Update (September 29 at 11:55 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include a statement from Ron Hammond of the Blockchain Association.
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