French Hill, hailing from Arkansas and currently leading the charge as the chair of the United States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion, has his sights set on a bigger prize. With Patrick McHenry announcing he won’t be throwing his hat in the ring for another term come January 2025, Hill is warming up to vie for the chairmanship of the full committee. Imagine the world of finance and digital assets, swirling in the chaotic beauty of innovation and regulation, and at the center of it all, Hill is making moves to become the maestro.
Hill isn’t new to the game. Since stepping into the role at the digital assets subcommittee when it first saw the light of day in January 2023, he’s been at the forefront, steering conversations on crypto, from the financing of terrorism to the complexities of money laundering. Not just a participant, Hill has been the vice chair of the full House committee, under the watchful eyes of both himself and McHenry, proving that when it comes to financial services, they mean business.
The Path to Leadership
Brooke Nethercott, Hill’s voice in the realm of communications, spilled the beans to Cointelegraph, revealing that Hill has been in deep talks with his colleagues about possibly chasing the chairmanship of the House Financial Services since McHenry dropped his bombshell news. Leaning on a robust four-decade career spanning both public and private sectors within financial services, Hill’s decided it’s his time to shine, aiming for the committee chairmanship.
But, as with all great tales of ambition and power, there’s a catch. The throne Hill seeks will only be within reach if his fellow Republican lawmakers keep their grip on the majority post the 2024 elections. Ah, the sweet suspense of democracy! Every seat in the House of Representatives, along with the Senate and the presidency, is up for grabs, setting the stage for an epic showdown between the Dems and the Reps. In a twist of fate worthy of a daytime drama, Hill expressed his hope in a January 2024 interview that certain crypto bills would get the green light from the full committee before the year wraps up.
When it comes to the ever-evolving world of digital assets, Hill and his comrades in arms, Patrick McHenry and Mike Flood, have been vocal about their concerns. They’ve been poking and prodding at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), questioning the clarity of a rule proposed in November 2023 that would see the CFPB extend its supervisory authority over the wild west of digital assets.
Their bone of contention? A fuzzy definition of “funds” that would bring digital assets under the CFPB’s watchful eye, potentially putting a damper on the freedom of peer-to-peer transactions through self-hosted wallets. The trio’s not having any of it, advocating for a clear sky policy that doesn’t rain on the crypto parade. They’ve been hammering away for an additional 60 days of public commentary, hoping to shed some light on the proposal’s impact on crypto.
Enter the Crypto Council for Innovation, echoing Hill and company’s sentiments with their “deep concerns” about the proposal. They fear it could fragment regulatory efforts even further, suggesting the CFPB pump the brakes and wait for Congress to lay down the law, literally.
