Investment Bank TD Cowen’s Perspective on Crypto Legislation

TD Cowen has urged for more realistic expectations regarding the passage of crypto legislation in the coming year.

Jaret Seiberg, Managing Director of the Washington Research Group at TD Cowen, expressed concerns about potential political gridlock affecting the cryptocurrency market structure bill FIT21 and the Senate Agriculture Committee bill. He stated, “Optimism is misplaced as we believe prospects are dropping for votes this year on either bill. There is a growing risk that the bills could get stuck politically next year.”

Seiberg highlighted skepticism about next year, stating that both political parties would likely seek to extract more contributions before acting on industry issues, despite the crypto community’s efforts in political contributions.

According to a report by the nonprofit organization Public Citizen, crypto companies contributed approximately $119 million, which accounts for about 48% of corporate political contributions this year. Additionally, the crypto-focused Fairshake PAC secured $95 million in contributions.

The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), which aims to regulate the cryptocurrency industry broadly, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in May 2022 and would assign the Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversight over crypto assets.