The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act has been approved by the United States House of Representatives.

This bill will provide regulatory oversight to the US government for the cryptocurrency market. The bill passed with an endorsement from 276 members but was opposed by 136.

What the bill provides for is the means to set up a framework of regulating cryptocurrency and other digital assets. It gives more power to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and it gives some guidelines for dealing with stablecoins and decentralized currencies of all kinds. The act also provides guidelines for instances of money laundering

The White House warned against some aspects of the bill, which it says do not protect consumers and investors adequately. Several government officials have spoken out against the bill as well, saying that it may infringe upon the rights of consumers and create legal loopholes and that it could allow regulation to be tighter and more draconian than anticipated.

On the other end of the spectrum are those officials who say that the act is too weak and may not give the government enough authority to act in cases involving illegal digital asset actions. The Senate has the option to not take up the measure.

The SEC Speaks Out

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said that this bill would create incredible risk for investors as well as for capital markets. He is concerned about how the bill might not be effective enough and may launch with regulatory gaps in it. If his worries are valid, then the bill could create a very fragile environment for some investors where they are not adequately protected by the law.

One of the specific concerns that Gensler mentioned is that under the new law, crypto contractors could classify themselves as not under the regulatory power of the bill.