Professional Capital Management founder and CEO Anthony Pompliano made his case for why bitcoin is the new S&P 500 on ‘Varney & Co.’
The Senate Banking Committee is preparing to announce the creation of its first subcommittee dedicated to digital assets, FOX Business has learned.
The move comes just days after Republicans officially took over the Senate last week and ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration. This will give the Republican Party full control of the government, as it retained control of the House of Representatives after the election. It is also seen as a commitment by Senate Republicans to prioritize crypto legislation and support Trump’s campaign promise to make America the crypto epicenter of the world.
The creation of the crypto subcommittee is one of South Carolina Senator Tim Scott’s first orders as the new chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees banks and financial regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Senator-elect Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) meets with the media on November 9, 2020 in Washington, DC. The Senate is reconvening for the first time since the 2020 presidential election, and the coronavirus relief package is high on their priority list. (p (Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images/Getty Images)
TRUMP NOMINATED PAUL ATKINS TO LEAD THE SECURITIES AND COMMISSION
Scott hopes to emulate the success of the lower house crypto subcommittee founded in 2023 by former North Carolina congressman Patrick McHenry. Last year, the House Financial Services Committee made history by passing a piece of crypto legislation drafted by the Digital Assets Subcommittee called the “FIT21” bill, which aimed to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets. The bill has yet to be presented to the full House of Representatives for discussion and voting and, if passed, forwarded to the Senate.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., Saturday, July 27, 2024. Trump said he will ask the government to create a massive reserve of Bitcoin if he returns to the White House in an attempt to (Photo: Brett Carlsen/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
THE CRYPTO INDUSTRY IS AWAITING TRUMP’S ELECTION FOR THE CHAIR OF THE CFTC
News of the new Senate subcommittee was first reported by Punchbowl News and confirmed to FOX Business by two Senate aides. Aides also confirmed that Scott has temporarily selected Wyoming Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a bitcoin advocate, to chair the subcommittee pending a confirmation vote in the coming days.
Republican members provisionally selected for the subcommittee, according to an internal memo released by Scott and seen by FOX Business, include freshman senators Bernie Moreno of Ohio and Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, as well as Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee. Both Moreno and McCormick received significant financial support from the $3.5 trillion crypto industry during their 2024 election races thanks to their pro-crypto leanings. Moreno received more than $40 million in industry funds channeled through pro-crypto super PACs, which helped him win the seat from incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown, who had held it for eighteen years.
Ohio Senate candidates Bernie Moreno, Republican, (L) and Sen. Sherrod Brown, Democrat (R).
It is currently unclear which Democratic senators will be members of the subcommittee. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is now the top Democrat on the Banking Committee, and her historically anti-crypto stance is expected to continue.
CLICK HERE TO SET FOX BUSINESS IN CRETE
Two freshman Democratic senators, Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Andy Kim of New Jersey, are both considered pro-industry and could become members of the subcommittee. Senator Pete Ricketts, the former governor of Nebraska, is also very much in favor of crypto. While governor, Ricketts signed the Nebraska Financial Innovation Act, which approved a new charter for digital asset custodians, allowing them custody of crypto.
