The executives who run the digital asset empires have already been scribbling frantic memos and giving soft-focused interviews, their voices warm with the kind of cautious optimism that only comes after years of being told your entire industry is a scam for money laundering and a threat to the stability of the global financial system. They call the committee’s approval a step in the right direction, a sign that the United States might finally be ready to stop treating crypto like a feral raccoon that snuck into the kitchen and is now trying to eat the silverware, and start treating it like, well, a thing that can be taxed, regulated, and folded into the great, messy tapestry of modern finance. It is a small victory, they say, but a victory nonetheless-though none of them are willing to admit out loud that most of the people cheering loudest right now will be crying into their energy drinks if the bill dies in committee next week.