Crypto Privacy Services are on the Decline with LocalMonero Closing
After 7 years of operations serving the XMR community Monero’s version of LocalBitcoins announced that it is closing.
As House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces increasing pressure, the United States government is on the brink of a possible shutdown within the next week. This political move could impact the progress of crypto-related bills awaiting a vote in Congress, with another delay.
Earlier this year, the House Financial Services Committee voted in favour of multiple crypto-focused bills. These include the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT), the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act, and the Keep Your Coins Act. The votes point to a major step in favour of cryptocurrency. The looming threat of a government shutdown could put the crypto legislative progress on hold. Lawmakers are grappling with funding the United States government for the next fiscal year and crypto legislation isn’t at the forefront of priorities at this point.
How would a shutdown affect crypto?
Ron Hammond, the Blockchain Association director of government relations, commented on the news:
“It is seeming more and more likely there will be a shutdown with the fractured House [Republican] divisions and Senate going in their own direction. For crypto the longer the shutdown goes on, the more various bills including FIT/market structure and stables get pushed… [For] crypto this is big as the Senate was always the obstacle for legislation getting signed into law. Whenever the shutdown fiasco subsides, this will be an important dynamic to watch. ”
Currently, the lawmakers have until the end of September to reach an agreement on the spending bills. If an agreement has not been reached, the government will be shutdown. As of Monday, Speaker McCarthy was allegedly planning to introduce spending bills that include initiatives favoured by far-right members of the Republican Party, including provisions on abortion access restrictions and funding for a United States-Mexico border wall. The House of Representatives is set to convene to address the issue, while the Senate will consider its own stopgap funding measure. The outcome of these deliberations will have significant implications for both the United States government’s operations and the progress of crypto-related legislation.