House Committee Eyes Tokenization and Crypto Rules

The House Financial Services Committee is stepping up its focus on tokenization, a way to turn real assets into digital tokens. Chairman French Hill says the committee wants clear rules that let businesses turn things like stocks or real estate into blockchain tokens. He believes this change is more about updating systems than rewriting laws, because the legal rules for a stock still apply to its token version. Last year the committee helped pass two important bills: the GENIUS Act, which deals with stablecoins, and the Clarity Act, aimed at fixing how markets work. These successes gave the committee confidence that it can get bipartisan support for new crypto measures. Hill told reporters that many House members already voted in favor of similar rules, so a Senate vote is likely to follow. The committee is also looking at whether tokenized deposits could replace paper checks in commercial banks. This would speed payments and cut fraud, but it requires the banking system to work smoothly with blockchain technology.The main challenge is making sure different systems can talk to each other without breaking existing regulations. Tax policy for digital assets is another priority. A bipartisan group has reintroduced a bill to clarify how crypto gains are taxed, and the Ways and Means Committee is already working on related issues. The committee sees this as part of a broader push to bring crypto into the mainstream financial framework. Politically, the crypto community is active in upcoming elections, supporting candidates who favor innovation. Hill notes that this engagement has already influenced policy discussions in 2024 and will likely do so again in 2026. If the committee’s rule‑making efforts succeed, it could trigger a year‑long joint process between the CFTC and SEC to refine the rules. The committee will hold an oversight hearing with federal bank regulators on Thursday at 10 a. m. ET to discuss these topics further.