The US Crypto Bill now open for public participation on Github

What 

US Senator Cynthia Lummis has published the proposed Responsible Financial Innovation Act bill, sometimes called the Crypto bill, on Github, opening the floor for comments from the public

Why 

Github is a repository used mostly for open-source code projects. It allows users to publicly comment on and revise text in a document, much like comment threads in a social media post. In loading the bill to Github, Senator Lummis has given the public open access to participate in fine-tuning the bill

What next 

The Responsible Financial Innovation Act is the first attempt at introducing an overarching regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and related industries in the US 

The story 

“Civil comments and criticisms welcome. Please share widely. We want to get this right. Help us iterate publicly on policy,” Lummis wrote in a tweet announcing the Github document. 

The bipartisan bill, meaning that senators from different political parties worked on drafting the bill, wants to clear the runway for cryptocurrencies in the US. This means detailed categorisation of cryptocurrencies, the creation of a coherent regulatory framework, fair taxation of digital assets, and establishing powers for the regulatory bodies best positioned to oversee this framework. 

It was to be expected that the nature of public input would range from constructive to obscene. While some threads called for Bitcoin to be made legal tender or the merits of taxation of mining, others with titles such as “cube blob world domination” were out for pure trolling. 

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