America's pro-crypto policy shift has become a bipartisan commitment

America's pro-crypto policy shift has become a bipartisan commitment as Democrats and Republicans look to secure the US dollar's influence as a global reserve currency.

At least 70 House Democrats now understand the need for stablecoin regulation, according to US Representative Ro Khanna.

The California Democrat said at the Digital Asset Summit in New York on Wednesday that he’s optimistic the US Congress will pass bills setting the crypto market structure and handling of stablecoins this year.

“I think there’s a strong bipartisan commitment to making sure that the US remains preeminent in the financial technologies of the future,” said Khanna, a member of the House Antitrust, Commercial Law, and Financial Institutions, Trade and Develpment, and Korea, Scopus, and China.

“We saw that vote come out of the Senate Banking Committee in extremely bipartisan fashion, a majority of the Democrats and Republicans voted for the bill, which was fantastic to see.”

The GENIUS Act, which stands for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, is designed to set clear guidelines for US stablecoin issuers, including collateralization requirements and compliance rules with Anti-Money Laundering laws.

“I think our colleagues on the other side of the aisle also recognize the importance for US dominance in this space, and they’re willing to work with us here, and that’s really exciting about this,” said Bo Hines, the recently appointed executive director of President Donald Trump’s Presidential Council of Advisers on Digital Assets.

Earlier this month, the House Financial Services Committee approved HR 1663, a bill that would empower the Securities and Exchange Commission to pursue any violations of federal securities law in the crypto market.

The bill, titled the "Keep American Innovators Strong Online and in the Metaverse Act," is part of a broader push by lawmakers to regulate the crypto sector following the high-profile collapse of FTX.

The bill now heads to the full House of Representatives for consideration.

Ethena Labs and Securitize are launching a new blockchain designed to boost retail and institutional adoption of DeFi products and tokenized assets.

The new blockchain, called Converge, is an Ethereum Virtual Machine that will offer retail investors access to “standard DeFi applications” and specialize in institutional-grade offerings to bridge traditional finance and decentralized applications. Converge will also allow users to stake Ethena’s native governance token, ENA.

“We’re focused on bringing institutional-grade products to market quickly and efficiently,” said Ethena Labs CEO Barak Ben Eliezer. “We’re also focused on providing a seamless and user-friendly experience for retail investors.”

Converge will be powered by Ethena Labs’ blockchain technology and Securitize’s real-world asset (RWA) infrastructure. The company has already minted nearly $2 billion in tokenized RWAs across various blockchains, including the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, which was initially launched on Ethereum and has since expanded to Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism and Polygon.

Canary Capital has submitted its Form S-1 filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list an exchange-traded fund tied to Sui (SUI), the native token of the layer-1 blockchain used for staking and fees.

The March 17 filing underscores the race to expand institutional access to digital assets following the overwhelming success of the spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs last year.

Canary Capital, founded in 2013, is known for its expertise in emerging technologies and investment strategies. The firm, led by CEO Paul Nerode, previously applied for a Bitcoin ETF in 2014, but the SEC rejected the proposal.

The firm has so far filed six crypto ETF proposals with the SEC. In November, the SEC Chair Gary Gensler stated that none of the seven spot crypto ETF proposals filed last year met the legal requirements for approval.

However, the SEC later approved the firm’s application for a Bitcoin futures ETF, which was part of a broader approval spree that also saw approval for Ethereum futures ETFs.

The latest filing comes after reports that the SEC is preparing to approve applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF by early 2024.

The move follows a series of setbacks for ETF hopefuls, with several proposals being rejected or delayed by the SEC.

Earlier this year, the SEC rejected applications from ARK Invest and Cathie Wood, while also postponing a decision on applications from Bitwise and WisdomTree.

Despite the setbacks, several ETF hopefuls remain optimistic about the prospects for approval this year.

The growing interest in crypto ETFs is evident from the rapid pace at which companies are submitting applications.

Earlier this month, asset management firm Galaxy Holdings applied for an ETF that will track a basket of the largest cryptocurrencies.

The growing institutional interest in crypto is also evident from the recent investments by major banks and asset managers.

Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs completed its $7 billion investment in blockchain startup, and asset management firm Circle applied to launch an actively managed crypto ETF.