Ron Hammond - the general consensus is that crypto will likely get its day in Congress in 2023

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Copied from the above twit feed:-

1) A common complaint I receive is how Congress moves at a snail's pace when it comes to crypto legislation. While some arguments surely have merit, it is always good to remember what is top of mind for Members of Congress especially given all that is occurring.

2) SCOTUS, inflation, guns, Russia, Jan. 6th hearings and more are top of mind for Congress and will be for quite some time. When big-ticket issues arise, many legislative priorities fall to the wayside. This is especially the case in an election year.

3) A recent example of this is the House Financial Services Democrats skipping a Friday briefing on crypto, Celsius, and Terra. It wasn't because there is no interest, but because abortion is a more important issue for them and their constituents.

4) Before folks pile on the Ds, it is important to highlight that this likely would have happened if the Rs had scheduled an educational briefing at the same time as the breaking Roe news. Whenever a major event or announcement occurs both parties hyper-focus on the news at hand.

5) Pending another major crisis in crypto, it is likely Congress won't have the time to tackle crypto legislation in 2022. It is still possible, but likely not. That doesn't mean the bills introduced this year aren't important. In fact, the opposite.

6) Recall, there are 535 Members of Congress. In order for a bill to get through Congress, it usually needs a hefty amount of support (many times from both parties). For years, crypto only had a few champions on the Hill. I remember when it was just 3-5 members in 2017.

7) Fast forward to 2022 after significant investment from the industry in advocates, major policy battles like the infrastructure bill and a large sum of campaign support for pro-crypto candidates, we are now looking at 50-75 Members who are vocally supportive of crypto.

8) In addition to the larger support on Capitol Hill, it appears there will be key "power players" chairing Committees or in leadership that can press for legislation to be considered. Patrick McHenry is a good example as he will likely chair the Financial Services Committee.

9) But just because we will have a strong Congressional set of support in 2023 doesn't mean it is a guarantee. Crypto needs to remain non-partisan because even if the Rs take back the House and Senate, the Biden Administration will remain. It is important to support both R and D

10) Congress moves slow, but at the same time, it is not rash with policy decisions for crypto. While some may clamor for a quicker Congress, it is important to highlight an overly reactive Congress could have easily called to ban crypto years ago. Education and policy take time.

11) In the 5 years I have worked on crypto policy, the feeling we are "close" to crypto bills passing Congress is now stronger than ever. But "close" is a relative term and in DC that still means a year out. These next few months will be positioning for what will be a busy 2023.