Overview
- Banking Chair Tim Scott said the Banking and Agriculture panels expect to vote on digital asset market‑structure legislation next month, with potential Senate floor action early next year if the measures clear committee.
- The Agriculture Committee’s bipartisan discussion draft would give the CFTC primary authority over spot digital commodities while excluding securities, payment stablecoins, collectibles, and deposits from the definition.
- The proposal creates new CFTC registrant categories for exchanges, brokers, and dealers with rules on surveillance, governance, segregation of customer assets, disclosures, and a bar on exchanges trading on their own account.
- The draft authorizes CFTC fee collection and implementation funding, directs coordination with the SEC to avoid conflicting requirements, and adds a retail advocate office, while capacity concerns at the CFTC remain a focus.
- Key sections remain bracketed for negotiation, including treatment of decentralized finance, blockchain developers, and AML provisions, as the CFTC signals it expects spot trading on Designated Contract Markets by year‑end.