[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9758 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9758
To require the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, and the Secretary of the Treasury to jointly carry
out a study on decentralized finance.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 23, 2024
Mr. Davidson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, and the Secretary of the Treasury to jointly carry
out a study on decentralized finance.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Evaluating DeFi Opportunities Act''.
SEC. 2. STUDY ON DECENTRALIZED FINANCE.
(a) Study Required.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination
with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, shall carry out a study on decentralized finance
that analyzes--
(1) the nature, size, role, and use of decentralized
finance blockchain-based protocols;
(2) the operation of blockchain-based protocols that
comprise decentralized finance;
(3) the interoperability of blockchain-based protocols and
blockchain systems;
(4) the interoperability of blockchain-based protocols and
software-based systems, including websites and wallets;
(5) the decentralized governance systems through which
blockchain-based protocols may be developed, published,
constituted, administered, maintained, or otherwise
distributed, including--
(A) whether the systems enhance or detract from--
(i) the decentralization of the
decentralized finance; and
(ii) the inherent benefits and risks of the
decentralized governance system; and
(B) any procedures, requirements, or best practices
that would mitigate the risks identified in
subparagraph (A)(ii);
(6) the benefits of decentralized finance, including--
(A) operational resilience and availability of
blockchain systems;
(B) interoperability of blockchain systems;
(C) market competition and innovation;
(D) transaction efficiency;
(E) transparency and traceability of transactions;
(F) disintermediation;
(G) privacy of user data;
(H) security of user personally identifiable
information;
(I) autonomy;
(J) accessibility by users; and
(K) affordability for users;
(7) the risks of decentralized finance, including--
(A) pseudonymity of users and transactions;
(B) disintermediation; and
(C) cybersecurity vulnerabilities;
(8) the extent to which decentralized finance has
integrated with the traditional financial markets and any
potential risks or improvements to the stability of the
markets;
(9) how the levels of illicit activity in decentralized
finance compare with the levels of illicit activity in
traditional financial markets;
(10) methods for addressing illicit activity in
decentralized finance and traditional markets that are tailored
to the unique attributes of each;
(11) how decentralized finance may increase the
accessibility and efficiency of cross-border transactions;
(12) the feasibility of embedding self-executing compliance
and risk controls into decentralized finance; and
(13) any businesses or service providers that are necessary
to the communication of user information for a material portion
of any decentralized finance transaction.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the
Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, shall submit to the relevant congressional committees a
report that includes the results of the study required by subsection
(a).
(c) GAO Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall--
(1) carry out a study on decentralized finance that
analyzes the information described in paragraphs (1) through
(13) of subsection (a); and
(2) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, submit to the relevant congressional committees a
report that includes the results of the study required by
paragraph (1).
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Decentralized finance.--The term ``decentralized
finance'' means blockchain-based protocols that allow users to
engage in financial transactions in a self-directed manner so
that a third-party intermediary does not effectuate the
transactions or take custody of digital assets of a user during
any part of the transactions.
(2) Relevant congressional committees.--The term ``relevant
congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committees on Financial Services and
Agriculture of the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the
Senate.
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