CryptPMA
Latest action. Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdictionA court's legal authority to hear a case: over the subject matter, the parties, and the territory.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) of the committee concerned.
Cryptocurrency Protocol Protection and Moratorium Act or the CryptPMA - Prohibits, for a five-year moratorium period beginning June 1, 2015, federal, state, and local governments from imposing statutory restrictions or regulations specifically identifying and governing the creation, use, exploitation, possession, or transfer of any algorithmic protocols governing the operation of any virtual, non-physical algorithm or computer source code-based medium for exchange (cryptocurrency).
Defines cryptocurrency as a popular term encompassing code-based protocols supporting an electronic, non-physical medium for the exchange of value.
Expresses the sense of Congress that, until the expiration of the five-year moratorium, no new statutes, regulations or advisory opinions be passed, implemented, enforced, or issued governing the creation, use, possession or taxation of cryptocurrencies, including governing protocols, data, codes, algorithms, or other calculations.
Expresses the sense of Congress further that: (1) development and use of any medium for exchange which possesses the characteristic of cryptographic proof of and for a transaction of cryptocurrency without the need for or reliance upon third-party intermediaries or verification is in the public interest; and (2) production, possession or use of cryptocurrency, whether in trade, commerce, or personal non-commercial transfers, should not be disfavored or discouraged by either the federal tax code or other governmental statute or regulation.
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the current guidance released by the IRS in its Notice 2014-21 is advisory, subject to public comment, and not in final form pending the expiration of the comment period; and (2) less than optimal for the American people and economy.
Directs the IRS to issue or revise interim regulations consistent with the sense of Congress that:
virtual currencies should be treated as currency instead of property in order to foster an equitable tax treatment and prevent a tax treatment that would discourage the use of cryptocurrency;
taxpayers accepting cryptocurrency in trade or commerce should be deemed to realize actual income only when cryptocurrency is monetized through conversion or exchange into dollars or any official government currency, and that fair market value should be calculated as net proceeds from the conversion; and
The summary continues for 1 more paragraph. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on December 1, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 1, 2014: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
STEVE STOCKMAN (R-TX) introduced it on December 1, 2014. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 1, 2014, 4348 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4348 days ago, on December 1, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers