Lummis poised to lead newly created Senate digital assets subcommittee

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee is poised to have crypto-friendly Sen. Cynthia Lummis lead its newly created digital asset subcommittee, fulfilling a promise made by its incoming chair.  

Some Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee "tentatively selected" Republican subcommittee leaders and members, but that will not be official until the committee votes on those. Lummis is set to lead a digital asset subcommittee which will have members including fellow crypto-friendly lawmakers Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and newly elected Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), a Senate aide told The Block. PunchbowlNews previously reported the news on Thursday afternoon. 

Ahead of the November elections, incoming Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said in August that he planned to  create a digital-asset-focused panel if he became chair. The Senate Banking Committee would also have to vote to create that digital assets subcommittee, a Senate aide said. 

"Wouldn't it be kind of cool if we had a subcommittee on the banking committee that focuses on the industry so that we bring more light to the conversation, more hearings on the industry, so that we get things done faster," Scott said in August during the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium.

Scott's leadership marks a potential shakeup for crypto. Outgoing Chair Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) was more critical of the crypto industry and called for a crackdown on the use of cryptocurrency to fund terrorism and evade sanctions and told federal agencies to use their current authority to go after bad actors in the industry. 

Leadership of the Senate Banking Committee is also pivotal since the chair holds the purse strings for legislation to be brought up, including crypto bills. 

Moreno will also be a member of the Senate Banking Committee's digital asset panel. He clinched a win against Brown in November and has made multiple statements about crypto, including a pledge to "lead the fight to defend crypto in the U.S. Senate" in an interview with Fox Business in June.