The U.S. House of Representatives has released a draft framework for the regulation of encryption assets, clarifying regulatory responsibilities and legal definitions.

Recently, leaders of relevant committees in the U.S. House of Representatives released a discussion draft of a federal framework to regulate the encryption asset industry. This draft was jointly published by several Republican chairs of the House Financial Service Committee and the Agriculture Committee, aiming to coordinate responsibilities among regulatory agencies and provide legal definitions for key industry terms.

The chairman of the Financial Service Committee stated that the draft has further developed on the basis of previous work, providing a lasting framework to protect consumers and maintain the United States' leading position in the field of digital innovation. The committee plans to widely solicit public opinions and collaborate with the government to promote the implementation of the final bill.

The draft introduces definitions for several core concepts, including digital goods, blockchain systems, and decentralized governance. Notably, the draft explicitly states that distributions made through mining, staking, or user rewards do not constitute securities and do not constitute sales.

This framework establishes a registration pathway for digital goods exchanges, brokers, and traders under the regulation of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while retaining the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission over securities and certain hybrid assets. Entities engaged in custody, trade facilitation, or customer interaction are required to comply with new registration and disclosure procedures.

The chairman of the subcommittee believes that this marks the beginning of the golden age of digital assets, and the House of Representatives is leading this trend. Another chairman also stated that the United States must provide a reasonable regulatory framework to maintain its position as a global center for Financial Service investment and innovation.

The draft also retains protections for decentralized finance protocols and self-custody. As long as DeFi trading protocols and messaging systems do not hold user funds or exercise discretion, they are not required to comply with traditional financial regulations. Additionally, the draft prohibits relevant departments from implementing rules that restrict individuals from self-custodying encryption assets through wallets.

To initiate formal legislative discussions, the committee has scheduled a joint hearing themed "The Future of American Innovation and Digital Assets: A Blueprint for the 21st Century" to gather input from stakeholders.

The draft also includes provisions for regulators to jointly formulate rules, as well as content for conducting research on DeFi, NFTs, and blockchain infrastructure by expanding the functions of the Federal Agency's Innovation Office.

Overall, this proposed bill aims to eliminate uncertainty in the United States regarding the regulation of encryption assets by establishing legal definitions and clarifying jurisdictional boundaries, while also encouraging the responsible development and regulation of the digital asset market.