Senator Ted Cruz Says Something Is Missing In The US Senate

Senator Ted Cruz has tabled a proposal where vendors in Capitol Hill will be required to accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. The senator has been at the forefront of championing friendly crypto regulations in Texas.

Senator Ted Cruz wants crypto in Capitol Hill

The senator tabled a concurrent resolution that will see the Architect of the Capitol, the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, and the Secretary of the Senate to only work with vending machines and contractors that have an option of accepting payments in cryptocurrencies.

There are not many details about this bill, and Cruz has yet to explain his strategy to ensure that the US Congress adopts crypto as a means of payment for transactions. Nevertheless, this is yet another positive initiative that Cruz has introduced in Congress.

Texas, the state Cruz represents, has become a significant hub for Bitcoin mining activities as miners take advantage of the abundance of renewable energy. Cruz has supported the boom of Bitcoin mining activities in the state. Last year, Cruz visited a mining facility in the state and pledged to continue advocating for changes in the sector.

One of the main initiatives that Cruz has led to support the crypto industry is proposing an amendment to the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that was being debated in 2021. Cruz, alongside other pro-crypto legislatures, advocated for the bill to be more precise and to exclude non-custodial entities such as miners from tax reporting requirements.

Besides supporting the crypto industry through legislation, Cruz has also invested in Bitcoin. Cruz bought Bitcoin worth between $15,000 and $50,000 through the River Financial exchange last year.

Crypto bills before US legislatures

Legislatures from both political divides have advocated for reforms in the US cryptocurrency market. A recent report by Chainalysis noted that there are currently 20 crypto-related bills before the US Congress that could impact cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.

In the House of Representatives, there is optimism of some progress in enacting laws that could benefit the broader crypto market. The newly elected chair of the House Committee of Financial Services, Patrick McHenry, is crypto-friendly. He could work with other crypto-friendly Republicans and Democrats to bring regulatory clarity to the sector.

McHenry reintroduced legislation in December to have innovation offices within government agencies. McHenry first pushed the Financial Services Innovation Act in 2016 and 2019 unsuccessfully. If the bill is successful, it will create offices within government regulatory agencies to support innovators, including the ones in the crypto and blockchain sectors.

One of the key issues surrounding crypto regulations in the US is whether the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) should have oversight. Several bills before the Senate and the House of Representatives advocate that the CFTC has more oversight authority over crypto commodities.

The Chair of the SEC, Gary Gensler, has regularly opined that the majority of cryptocurrencies in the market were securities, and they fell under the commission’s purview.

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