Tom Emmer Advocates for Crypto Legislation in Congress, Predicts Inevitable Regulatory Changes

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) is a strong supporter of cryptocurrency in Congress. He has big plans for the industry if Republicans take control of the federal government in November. But he believes that cryptocurrency regulation is coming, no matter the election outcome.

“Regardless of the outcome, I expect to see digital asset legislation start to move in both bodies,” Emmer shared with Decrypt at the Messar Mainnet conference in New York. “I think it’s ‘when,’ not ‘if,’ regardless of who’s in charge.”

Emmer credits this optimistic view to recent changes in Congress. This spring, many Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, teamed up with Republicans to overturn an anti-crypto banking rule. Just days later, 71 Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, voted to pass FIT21, a key bill focused on crypto market structure.

Recently, Emmer’s main counterpart on the House Financial Services Committee, Maxine Waters (D-CA), said in an interview that “crypto is inevitable.” This is significant because Waters had opposed bills like FIT21 just months ago. “That’s a momentous statement by Maxine,” Emmer noted.

So, why have so many Democrats changed their stance on crypto this year? Emmer believes it’s about electoral politics. Younger voters are increasingly considering crypto when they vote. “They saw that there’s this voting bloc, age 18 to 40, and for maybe one out of five of them, this is the issue they’re going to be voting on,” he explained.

While Emmer is confident that crypto legislation is on the way, he thinks that if Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House in 2025, those laws will likely be enacted more quickly than under a Democratic government.

If Emmer could choose, he’d prioritize three specific types of crypto-related bills: a market structure framework like FIT21, a bill to ban the creation of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC), and legislation to support the creation of dollar-backed stablecoins worldwide, as long as they meet U.S. Treasury Department criteria.

He believes these laws would provide a solid foundation for American crypto firms and projects that are currently worried about regulatory uncertainty. However, he cautioned against going too far with regulation.

“I have Republican colleagues in the Senate who think we need to create a new regulatory department just to deal with crypto,” he said. “Be careful what you wish for. You don’t want that.”