Emmer sponsors bill to amend securities laws for digital assets

U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) on Sept. 24 introduced bipartisan legislation to amend the nation’s securities laws to exclude investment contract assets, or digital tokens, from the definition of a security.

The Securities Clarity Act, H.R. 8378, which Rep. Emmer sponsored with bill cosponsors U.S. Reps. Mike Conaway (R-TX) and Darren Soto (D-FL), would provide regulatory clarity for the launch of an open blockchain network by making contract assets separate and distinct from a securities offering they may have been part of, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Emmer’s office. 

“We have seen regulations hinder the progress of blockchain-based technologies,” said Rep. Emmer, ranking member of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Task Force on Financial Technology and co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus. “The development of these vital technologies should not be impacted by government’s inability to adjust.” 

H.R. 8378 would permit companies that are in compliance with current securities registration requirements, or that have qualified for an exemption, to provide for the distribution of their assets to the public without fear of additional regulatory uncertainty, according to the bill summary, which notes that such assets “are in fact, and always were, commodities.”

“The Securities Clarity Act will allow America to compete in this new advancing space without sacrificing the consumer and investor protections that have made our capital markets the strongest in the world,” said Rep. Emmer. “There are companies that have followed our current rules of the road and managed to navigate our securities regulations. Now, they deserve certainty from our regulators when offering their digital asset to the public.” 

Coin Center, the Chamber of Digital Commerce, and the Blockchain Association endorsed H.R. 8378.