House Speaker Mike Johnson On Congress + Crypto: “We’re In This Together”

This evening, after an afternoon session with Bitcoin and crypto industry leaders, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) attended an intimate Bitcoin Voter PAC-sponsored event in downtown Washington, D.C. at which he made it clear that House Republicans plan to work closely with the Bitcoin and crypto industry to craft legislation that will enable the industry to thrive in the United States.

“We’re in this together,” Speaker Johnson told Bitcoin Magazine at the event.

“It was an extraordinary group of folks to have assembled on Capitol Hill [today] and a great benefit to the members of Congress to be able to associate with, talk with, and visit with all these leaders in the industry,” he added, referring to the likes of Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Andreessen Horowitz GP Marc Andreessen, and Riot Platforms SVP and Bitcoin Voter Project lead Brian Morgenstern on the industry side and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill on the Congress side.

(The meeting Speaker Johnson referred to was different from the meeting that Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor attended with Senator Cynthia Lummis and Rep. Nick Begich today.)

Speaker Johnson also noted that Congress “relies upon the insight and expertise” of the members of the industry “to be able to have policy that allows for further growth and advancement of the industry.”

He highlighted that the Republican party is “deeply committed” to helping to advance the industry in the coming years and that today’s meeting was “very productive.”

Mike Senich, Senior Advisor at the Bitcoin Voter PAC, seconded Speaker Johnson’s comments regarding how productive today’s meeting was.

“We had great discussions about the SBR [Strategic Bitcoin Reserve] and double taxation on Bitcoin miners, who are taxed when the bitcoin is mined and when it’s sold,” Senich told Bitcoin Magazine.

Senich added that members of the US Treasury such as Acting Secretary of Domestic Finance Luke Petite and Counselor to the Secretary on Digital Assets Tyler Williams, as well as White House Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets Patrick Witt, were also present for these discussions.

“[We talked about] how the industry can work hand in glove with their teams,” said Senich.

Senich also stated that those in today’s meeting now “understand what the priorities are for market structure.”

When I asked him whether those priorities included keeping the language from the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) that would protect developers and providers of noncustodial technology, he said that he could not currently comment on any specifics of what was discussed.

However, he did say that time was of the essence in getting legislation like the CLARITY Act (the crypto market structure bill) passed.

“We believe that the future of this industry rests with a Republican majority in Congress for us to get everything done that needs to be done,” said Senich. 

“So, not knowing where the House majority will be in a year, we have to start working with that timeline to get these accomplished,” he added.

“And just as a further point with Speaker Johnson, we will do everything we can to protect his house majority by electing Bitcoin and crypto champions [come midterms].”