Republican Tom Emmer has long been a supporter of the cryptocurrency industry and favours its adequate regulation. With that in mind, he is notable for his toughest comments on SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s actions during congressional hearings with him.

For example, during the last such meeting in late September, Emmer directly stated that Gensler should be ashamed of himself because of the Commission’s recent apology regarding previous actions by its staff. As a reminder, the day before, the regulator was forced to admit that it did not consider all cryptocurrencies to be unregistered securities when it referred to them as such.

The chairman of the Securities Commission Gary Gensler

Politics and cryptocurrencies in the US

Overall, Emmer is convinced that regulation for cryptocurrencies will come to the United States regardless of how the election turns out. Still, Democrats have already begun to ponder the issue, and the topic of crypto has even been brought up by Kamala Harris before, though it wasn’t particularly convincing.

In an interview with Decrypt representatives at the Messari Mainnet event, Tom Emmer voiced his own assumption that could be considered positive for crypto. Here’s his comment.

Regardless of the outcome of the election, I expect digital asset legislation to start moving in both parties. I think it’s only a matter of time regardless of who is at the helm.

U.S. House of Representatives majority parliamentary organiser Tom Emmer

The Republican credited much of the rosy outlook to recent shifts in sentiment on both sides in Congress. Still, in the spring of 2024, a significant number of Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, joined Republicans in voting to repeal SAB 121.

SAB 121, or Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, is a directive that was issued by the SEC in March 2022 that addresses the accounting for digital assets. Specifically, SAB 121 requires companies providing storage services for cryptoassets on behalf of clients to recognise liabilities on the balance sheet equivalent to the value of those assets, and to make appropriate provisions to cover the risks associated with the storage. Simply put, SAB 121 multiples the issue of crypto storage within the legal framework and requires serious expense for such activity. As a result, it is not favourable for many companies to engage in such activities.

A four-hour chart of the Bitcoin BTC rate on the Binance crypto exchange

A few days later, 71 Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, voted in favour of passing FIT21, a key cryptocurrency market structure bill. And it’s also an important sign for the outlook for digital assets.

FIT21, or the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, is an important legislative initiative aimed at providing legal clarity on digital assets in the US. This bill seeks to define the roles of the key regulators SEC and CFTC in overseeing crypto, as well as strengthen consumer protection. It aims to create incentives for innovation and maintain US leadership in the global digital finance arena.

U.S. House of Representatives member Nancy Pelosi

Just last week, Emmer’s biggest opponent on the House Financial Services Committee, Maxine Waters, declared that “cryptocurrencies are not going anywhere anymore.”

Waters, by the way, was a staunch opponent of bills like FIT21 until a few months ago. Yet she continues to support SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and his policies on digital assets, which is odd in itself.

U.S. House of Representatives member Maxine Waters

So why have so many Democrats had a change of heart on the digital asset sphere this year? Emmer believes such a thing has to do with electoral politics and the realisation that younger voters may vote with an eye on actual digital asset policies. Here’s the official’s line.

Politicians have realised that there is a block of voters between the ages of 18 and 40, and for one in five of them, cryptocurrencies are an issue they will vote on.

While Emmer is now confident that passage of new legislation in general is inevitable, he argues that the Republican “trifecta” controlling the House, Senate and White House in 2025 is likely to enact these laws faster than a Democrat-controlled government.

Candidates are more likely to win, according to decentralised platform Polymarket

He said he would favour three specific types of cryptocurrency-related bills. The first is a market structure similar to FIT21.

The second is a bill banning the creation of a US central bank digital currency (CBDC), as well as a bill that would make it easier to create dollar-backed stablecoins anywhere in the world, provided they meet certain criteria from the US Treasury Department.

Republican Tom Emmer at a congressional hearing

Emmer believes that such laws, if passed, would create a strong foothold for U.S. cryptocurrency companies and projects that are currently worried about regulatory uncertainty. However, the congressman disagrees with going much further than such legislation.


Tom Emmer's position is that representatives of both parties have realised the importance of the cryptocurrency industry - at least to the US economy - and will seek to ensure that it is adequately regulated. Democrats, however, continue to lack credibility on this issue. After all, the SEC's struggle with the coin niche over the past few years took place under the administration of Democrat Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. So they clearly agree with this position.