After a week of squabbling in Washington, the cryptocurrency industry secured one of its primary legislative objectives and made progress toward a second one.

The U.S. House on Thursday passed the first major piece of nationwide legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies, a move widely expected to bring the once-obscure payment technology further into the mainstream economy.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and expand the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's oversight of the industry.