US crypto bills on the move, Worldcoin launches and Russia’s CBDC: Hodler’s Digest, July 23-29 By Cointelegraph

A key United States House panel has approved a pair of bills that could finally deliver some regulatory clarity to crypto firms in the country. On July 26, lawmakers voted in favor of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which establishes rules for crypto firms on when to register with either the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or the Securities and Exchange Commission. The panel also approved the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which sets out guidelines that remove hurdles and requirements for blockchain developers and service providers such as miners, multisignature service providers and decentralized finance platforms. Despite the passage of these acts, a number of Republicans and Democrats refused to support another proposed piece of legislation dubbed the Digital Assets Market Structure bill.

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of the network, released a long-form essay with his thoughts on the recently launched Worldcoin human identity verification system, addressing the larger concept in discussion with the release of the Worldcoin token proof-of-humanity. Worldcoin initiated its public launch on July 25 after nearly two years of development and beta testing, but criticism of it erupted almost immediately. The United Kingdoms Information Commissioners Office is deciding whether to investigate the project for violating the countrys data protection laws. The French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty also questioned Worldcoins legality. In response to criticism of its data collection practices, the project released an audit report on July 28.