US Rep. Bryan Steil to chair House cryptocurrency subcommittee

A Wisconsin congressman will head the House Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence.

Bryan Steil, a Republican representing the 1st Congressional District in southeast Wisconsin, was appointed to the role Thursday.

His subcommittee’s jurisdiction includes things like mobile banking and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. It’ll also be the first stop for legislation on cryptocurrency.

Digital currencies have a murky federal regulatory status. That allowed President Joe Biden’s Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler to go after the crypto industry.

The industry responded by spending over $130 million in 2024’s election cycle through its PAC, Fairshake.

It spent $764,206 to independently help re-elect Steil, according to campaign finance database OpenSecrets.

In a statement, Steil said “technologies like financial apps, digital assets, and machine learning revolutionize our economy,” adding that he looks forward to continuing “to provide the rules of the road to move our economy into the future.”

Steil was appointed to his new role by House Financial Services Chair French Hill, R-Arkansas. Hill’s top campaign contributors include the CEOs of the crypto exchange platform Coinbase and the Charles Schwab Corporation.

One of his legislative priorities has been a bill that would set up clearer, crypto-friendly federal financial regulations, which passed the House with bipartisan support in May. He called Steil “instrumental” in passing that bill, and in overturning an SEC rule requiring crypto exchanges to list their digital assets as liabilities on their balance sheets.

Now, the Janesville native will oversee hearings and votes on new crypto-related legislation.