Bills for proof-of-reserves and crypto consumer protection have been introduced in the US Congress.

Ritchie Torres, a Democrat from New York, quietly introduced the quick bills earlier this month as a complement to more extensive legislation.

Representative Ritchie Torres of the United States has sponsored legislation in the House of Representatives that would forbid cryptocurrency exchanges from misusing customer cash and mandate that they provide the Securities and Exchange Commission with verification of reserves. According to Torres, the quick laws are meant to supplement existing cryptocurrency regulations.

The measures, which have the names “Crypto Consumer Investor Protection Act” and “Crypto Exchange Disclosure Act,” were introduced by Torres on December 1. The bills are extremely brief. The text of the body of the first bill, H.R. 9241, as obtained from Torres’ office, is as follows:

“Without the customer’s permission, a cryptocurrency exchange is not allowed to lend, leverage, or combine the funds of a customer.”

The second bill, H.R. 9242, states: A cryptocurrency exchange that maintains assets on behalf of clients shall periodically (as determined by the Securities and Exchange Commission) reveal to the Securities and Exchange Commission information relating to the exchange’s proof of reserves, including, with respect to the exchange at the time of the disclosure, the exchange’s asset holdings as compared to its liabilities.

The House Financial Services Committee has been tasked with handling the bills.

At a press conference regarding the measures, Torres stated that “Crypto has a role in the American economy, but it must be rigorously regulated.” He has a history of defending cryptocurrency, including penning an editorial in a New York newspaper outlining the “liberal argument” for it. He requested a GAO investigation into the SEC’s inability to safeguard the investing public from FTX’s severe mismanagement and wrongdoing in a letter on December 5th.

Torres’ measure may be paired with a number of laws, including one created by Maxine Waters and Patrick Henry, chairs of the House Financial Services Committee. Torres is a part of that committee as well. 20 measures that potentially have an impact on cryptocurrencies were assembled in November by the blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, which is part of the U.S. Congress.