Overview
- Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott said his panel plans a December markup and vote, with a push for a Senate floor debate early next year if committees advance their texts.
- The Agriculture Committee’s discussion draft defines digital commodities, excludes securities and certain payment stablecoins, and sets up a CFTC-led registration regime for exchanges, brokers and dealers.
- Customer safeguards in the draft include segregation of client assets, conflict-of-interest controls, enhanced disclosures and listing standards that bar tokens readily susceptible to manipulation.
- The proposal directs CFTC–SEC coordination, recognizes self-custody, clarifies that noncontrolling developers are not money transmitters, and provides fee authority alongside a $150 million implementation authorization.
- Major areas remain bracketed—especially DeFi and AML—and shutdown-related delays have shifted expectations toward early 2026 for final passage, according to current reporting.