This Act may be cited as the “Bridging Regulation and Innovation for Digital Global and Electronic Digital Assets Act” or the “BRIDGE Digital Assets Act”.

(a) Establishment.—The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission (in this section referred to as the “Commissions”) shall jointly establish the Joint Advisory Committee on Digital Assets (in this section referred to as the “Committee”).

(b) Purpose.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall—

(A) provide the Commissions with advice on the rules, regulations, and policies of the Commissions related to digital assets;

(B) further the regulatory harmonization of digital asset policy between the Commissions;

(C) examine and disseminate methods for describing, measuring, and quantifying digital asset—

(i) decentralization;

(ii) functionality;

(iii) information asymmetries; and

(iv) transaction and network security; and

(D) examine the potential for digital assets, blockchain systems, and distributed ledger technology to improve efficiency in the operation of financial market infrastructure and better protect financial market participants, including services and systems which provide—

(i) improved customer protections;

(ii) public availability of information;

(iii) greater transparency regarding customer funds;

(iv) reduced transaction cost; and

(v) increased access to financial market services.

(2) REVIEW BY AGENCIES.—Each Commission shall—

(A) review the findings and recommendations of the Committee;

(B) promptly issue a public statement each time the Committee submits a finding or recommendation to a Commission—

(i) assessing the finding or recommendation of the Committee;

(ii) disclosing the action or decision not to take action made by the Commission in response to a finding or recommendation; and

(iii) explaining the reasons for the action or decision not to take action; and

(C) each time the Committee submits a finding or recommendation to a Commission, provide the Committee with a formal response to the finding or recommendation not later than 3 months after the date of the submission of the finding or recommendation.

(c) Membership and leadership.—

(1) NON-FEDERAL MEMBERS.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commissions shall appoint at least 20 nongovernmental stakeholders who represent a broad spectrum of interests, equally divided between the Commissions, to serve as members of the Committee. The appointees shall include—

(i) digital asset issuers;

(ii) persons registered with the Commissions and engaged in digital asset related activities;

(iii) individuals engaged in academic research relating to digital assets; and

(iv) digital asset users.

(B) MEMBERS NOT COMMISSION EMPLOYEES.—Members appointed under subparagraph (A) shall not be deemed to be employees or agents of a Commission solely by reason of membership on the Committee.

(2) CO-DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICERS.—Notwithstanding section 1009 of title 5, United States Code, the Committee shall have two designated Federal officers or employees, as described under such section, with each Commission designating one officer or employee of the Commission to serve as a designated Federal officer or employee, from among individuals who possess an understanding of digital assets, blockchain systems, and financial technology.

(3) COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP.—

(A) COMPOSITION; ELECTION.—The Committee members shall elect, from among the Committee members—

(i) a chair;

(ii) a vice chair;

(iii) a secretary; and

(iv) an assistant secretary.

(B) TERM OF OFFICE.—Each member elected under subparagraph (A) in a 2-year period referred to in section 1013(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, shall serve in the capacity for which the member was so elected, until the end of the 2-year period.

(d) No compensation for Committee members.—All Committee members shall—

(1) serve without compensation; and

(2) while away from the home or regular place of business of the member in the performance of services for the Committee, be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons employed intermittently in the Government service are allowed expenses under section 5703(b) of title 5, United States Code.

(e) Frequency of meetings.—The Committee shall meet—

(1) not less frequently than twice annually; and

(2) at such other times as either Commission may request.

(f) Duration.—Section 1013(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the Committee.

(g) Time limits.—The Commissions shall—

(1) adopt a joint charter for the Committee within 90 days after the date of the enactment of this section;

(2) appoint members to the Committee within 120 days after such date of enactment; and

(3) hold the initial meeting of the Committee within 180 days after such date of enactment.

(h) Funding.—The Commissions shall jointly fund the Committee.

(i) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) BLOCKCHAIN.—The term “blockchain” means any technology—

(A) where data is—

(i) shared across a network to create a public ledger of verified transactions or information among network participants;

(ii) linked using cryptography to maintain the integrity of the public ledger and to execute other functions; and

(iii) distributed among network participants in an automated fashion to concurrently update network participants on the state of the public ledger and any other functions; and

(B) composed of source code that is publicly available.

(2) DIGITAL ASSET.—The term “digital asset” means any fungible digital representation of value that can be exclusively possessed and transferred, person to person, without necessary reliance on an intermediary, and is recorded on a cryptographically secured public distributed ledger.

(3) DIGITAL ASSET ISSUER.—With respect to a digital asset, the term “digital asset issuer” means any person that, in exchange for any consideration—

(A) issues or causes to be issued a unit of such digital asset to a person; or

(B) offers or sells a right to a future issuance of a unit of such digital asset to a person.