AI Risk Bill Unlikely to Advance Before Midterms
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie said the Great American AI Act may not receive hearings before the US midterm elections, leaving the AI risk bill stalled without a committee markup. The bipartisan bill would introduce catastrophic-risk disclosure and cybersecurity requirements for advanced AI systems.
Guthrie said maintaining US competitiveness with China should take priority over regulation that could restrict innovation. The committee is instead focusing on data-centre energy costs and narrower technology measures involving semiconductors, open-source AI and quantum computing.
The delay means AI companies will continue operating without a unified federal framework, while state-level rules in California, Colorado and other states expand. The AI risk bill could therefore remain a post-midterm issue, increasing regulatory uncertainty for developers and investors. For traders, the decision is more relevant to AI and technology stocks than to cryptocurrencies, although it may indirectly affect sentiment around AI-related digital assets.
Neutral
The expected cryptocurrency-market impact is neutral because the article concerns US AI legislation rather than digital-asset rules, taxation, exchange access or blockchain enforcement. The Great American AI Act has not reached committee markup, so there is no immediate policy change for crypto traders.
In the short term, the delay could support AI-related technology shares by reducing fears of near-term compliance costs. It could also produce mixed sentiment in AI-linked crypto tokens: traders may welcome fewer regulatory constraints, but the lack of a federal framework increases long-term uncertainty. Any move would likely be driven more by broader technology-sector sentiment and risk appetite than by crypto-specific fundamentals.
Historically, stalled US technology legislation has tended to create limited direct price action in major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether unless it changes expectations for monetary policy, institutional access or enforcement. Over the longer term, continued federal inaction may lead to a patchwork of state rules, raising compliance costs and reducing clarity for companies developing AI-blockchain products. Traders should monitor subsequent committee scheduling, state legislation and whether AI regulation becomes an election issue. These factors could affect AI-related tokens, but they do not currently establish a clear bullish or bearish signal for the wider crypto market.