Tuberville bill would block Chinese ownership of US crypto companies

The bill could be slipped into the US Farm Bill up to be renewed in September 2023, Sen. Tommy Tuberville said

article-image

lev radin/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., introduced a bill Wednesday alongside Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., that will ban companies established in China from acquiring a stake in American digital asset firms. 

The bill is an attempt to rid the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on American crypto companies, according to Tuberville.

“This bipartisan bill will help to wall off the burgeoning American digital commodity industry from CCP interference and preserve our data privacy and investor protection rights,” Tuberville wrote in a statement

Serving as an amendment to the Commodity Exchange Act, the bill would prohibit the CFTC from greenlighting any American-based crypto firm that is “owned in whole or in part by an entity organized or established in the [People’s Republic of China].” 

Tuberville first made his intentions to introduce this bill known in a Wednesday Wall Street Journal opinion piece, where he added that under the bill, the CFTC would have the power to block sales of crypto firms to Chinese-based companies. 

In it, Tuberville hinted that his crypto bill could be slipped into the US Farm Bill, a massive piece of legislation that expires in September 2023. 

Prometheum Ember Capital is what spurred Tuberville’s interest to keep China out of American crypto. Prometheum was granted a license by FINRA on May 23 to operate as a custodian for digital assets. Tuberville cited SEC filings showing that Prometheum is strategic partners with Shanghai Wanxiang Blockchain Inc., which is a spinoff of Wanxiang Group.

Tuberville’s smoking gun is that Lu Guanqiu, the founder of Wanxiang Group, was posthumously praised by the CCP in 2021 and named a “National Excellent Communist Party Member.” The CCP went on to say in a press release that “Comrade Lu Guanqiu had always listened to the Party and followed the Party.”

So far, China hasn’t been a huge focus in lawmakers’ crypto bills, but Tuberville has shifted that dynamic. Gillibrand hasn’t been on the record about her joint effort with Tuberville on this bill, but has teamed up with Republicans before. 

Gillibrand and Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., tried to pass the Responsible Financial Innovation Act last year, a bill focused on regulating digital assets. It hasn’t been reintroduced in the new congress yet.

Congress is also beginning to take notice of Web3 and blockchain technology, applications of crypto beyond money and currency.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce gathered Wednesday to discuss possible use cases for distributed ledger tech. 

One professor talked about blockchain’s potential to advance contact tracing systems for Covid-19 and other diseases. Another expert testified on the topic of smart contracts, saying they could help improve regulatory compliance and supply chain management.

Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., said his colleagues are making a mistake talking only about the security versus commodity debate.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research

article-image

With much of the bitcoin mining supply chain based in Asia, US-based operations now face higher equipment prices

article-image

Anticipating an economic downturn, venture firms may be less likely to invest

article-image

Trump’s tariffs may have potentially significant impacts on GDP, household spending and food prices — if they hold

article-image

The Binance-affiliated stablecoin lost about $200M of market capitalization

article-image

How the Bitcoin conversation has evolved since the price was less than $1

article-image

The platform also rolled out 13 tokenized funds for institutions on the Connect platform