Senate Ag Committee’s draft crypto legislation gives new authority to CFTC, leaves key issues unresolved

The Senate Agriculture Committee, led by Senators John Boozman and Cory Booker, released a draft discussion bill to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, primarily granting new authority to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over digital commodities. The draft defines digital commodities as fungible digital assets exclusively possessed and transferred person-to-person without intermediaries, recorded on a distributed ledger. While the bill proposes a new funding stream for the CFTC via fees collected from crypto entities, concerns persist regarding the CFTC's current staffing levels compared to the SEC and whether it has adequate resources for expanded oversight. The draft includes bracketed sections indicating unresolved issues between parties, such as resource allocation and preventing regulatory arbitrage. Furthermore, the legislation addresses conflicts of interest, particularly concerning President Trump's family's involvement in crypto ventures, which has been a sticking point for Democrats.

(Source：The Block)