A spending agreement unveiled by congressional leaders Tuesday—a so-called Christmas Tree stopgap bill packed with various additions before the holiday break—is aimed at averting a government shutdown. But it also includes a relatively novel crypto-related initiative.
Tucked within a 1,547-page bill that would keep the government funded through March 14, 2025, the legislative package currently includes the “Deploying American Blockchains Act,” a measure that would enable the U.S. Department of Commerce to make policy recommendations while assembling a government-backed group of industry experts on Capitol Hill.
First passed in the House of Representatives in May, the bill requires the Department “to support the leadership of the United States in the use of blockchain technology,” according to a description of the original legislation. While establishing definitions for terms like “blockchain technology” and “tokenization,” the bill also requires the Department’s secretary to “serve as a principal advisor” to the president on crypto-related matters, alongside a new advisory committee.
Rep. Larry Buchson (R-IN) co-sponsored the Deploying American Blockchains Act when it was first introduced in 2023, and he told Decrypt that its inclusion in the stopgap funding bill was the result of bipartisan negotiations.
“Blockchain technology and other distributed ledger technologies have so many potential applications to help drive innovation and economic growth,” said Buchson. “This bill represents an important step in reasserting the United States as the best place in the world for businesses to develop and deploy these blockchain technologies throughout the economy.”
Among several initiatives, the “National Blockchain Deployment Advisory Committee” would assess how federal agencies could benefit from blockchain technology and tokenization, a process that refers to creation of digital representations for assets on a public blockchain.
The new committee would also explore how blockchain technology could “promote the national security” of the U.S., while delivering regular reports to lawmakers on crypto-related matters, ranging from potential policy moves to U.S. competitiveness in the cryptosphere.
The upshot is that President-elect Donald Trump picked Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to serve as Commerce Secretary last month. While Fitzgerald reportedly hoped to serve as U.S. Treasury Secretary, the stopgap bill’s passage could put the Tether-linked Bitcoin bull in a position of power explicitly tasked with promoting the use of crypto-related tech in the U.S.
If he’s confirmed by the Senate, the bill would grant Lutnick the authority to appoint members to the advisory committee, which “shall include” government employees—but also developers, cybersecurity experts, and even artists, according to the stopgap funding bill’s text.
If the measure is passed as part of the stopgap funding bill, then the new committee could also outlive Trump’s term, with a shelf life of seven years.
Absent within the spending bill is crypto legislation passed by lawmakers earlier this year, including a crypto market structure bill passed in the House, and a repeal of regulatory guidance on banks’ ability to custody digital assets that was ultimately vetoed by President Joe Biden.
Ever seen a bigger piece of pork? pic.twitter.com/ZesFCNSNKp
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2024
If lawmakers in the House of Representatives and Senate fail to pass the bill before midnight on Friday, then the government would face a partial shutdown this weekend, per Reuters.
Yet with influential members of the president-elect’s inner circle—such as tech CEO Elon Musk—already criticizing the lengthy bill, it’s unclear what form the final deal could take.
“Ever seen a bigger piece of pork?” Musk wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), posting a picture of the physical bill.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
