Major U.S. labor unions say Senate crypto bill lacks "meaningful safeguards"

Jinse Finance reported that the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) opposes the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA) and stated in a letter to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday that the bill would pose significant risks to workers and the financial system. Jody Calemine, Director of the AFL-CIO, said that the bill's approach to crypto assets "poses risks to retirement funds and the overall financial stability of the U.S. economy." He added that the bill would allow the crypto industry "to operate more broadly and deeply within our financial system without sufficient oversight or meaningful safeguards." Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand originally introduced the RFIA in 2022 and revised it earlier this year. The Senate Banking Committee is working on this bill as an alternative approach to regulating cryptocurrencies, with a different scope and regulatory focus, rather than advancing the House-passed market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, from July.