The representative from North Carolina, Patrick McHenry, he may have used his virtual appearance at a cryptocurrency conference as a means of asking for a vote in the 2022 US midterm elections.
In a pre-recorded message to attendees of the Converge22 conference, held in San Francisco on September 29, McHenry suggested that the goal of a “clear regulatory framework” for digital assets could prompt US lawmakers to develop legislation. The Republican lawmaker used terms like “bipartisan consensus” and support from both major political parties on certain regulatory frameworks related to digital assets and stablecoins before apparently encouraging crypto users to vote red in the upcoming election.
“To ensure these technologies flourish here in the United States, we have to provide regulatory clarity to the digital asset ecosystem,” McHenry said. “This will be one of my top priorities if I become chairman of the House Financial Services Committee next Congress.”
The current chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Maxine Waters, was approved by the Democratic caucus in 2018 to lead the committee after the party regained control of the House of Representatives. Under House rules, the majority party recommends a president, while the minority party recommends a ranking member.
McHenry appeared to suggest that by voting with the goal of Republicans taking control of the House, he would prioritize policies for crypto users. At the time of publication, 221 representatives of the House of Representatives are grouped with the Democrats, while the Republicans have 212 seats. The slim majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate has many experts suggesting that Republicans have a chance of flipping both houses of Congress in the November 2022 midterm elections.
Under US Federal Election Commission rules, candidates, campaigns and political action committees are generally required to add a disclaimer to any ad that promotes the election of one candidate or the defeat of another, unless it is considered “of minimal value”. Although McHenry’s speech focused heavily on the bill and suggested that stablecoins were a “bipartisan entry point for Congress to bring clear rules to the digital asset ecosystem,” mixing crypto and politics is nothing new for space.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong caused a stir in September 2020 after a blog post in which he described the exchange as “focused on achieving its mission” as part of a company that largely refrained from participating. in United States politics. The crypto exchange launched a voter registration portal in August as part of a crypto political education initiative.
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