BlockBeats news, on January 25, Galaxy’s research director Alex Thorn posted on X platform that a key hearing in the cryptocurrency market structure legislative process will take place next week. Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee have released a discussion draft of the Digital Commodity Intermediary Act. This bill is expected to be merged with relevant legislative content completed by the Senate Banking Committee in the future, forming a complete ‘Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act’. Since the Senate Agriculture Committee oversees the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), this draft primarily focuses on the digital commodity market, with its core content granting CFTC exclusive regulatory authority over the spot crypto market (including crypto exchanges, dealers, and brokers).
The committee plans to hold a bill revision hearing on January 27 (Tuesday), where bipartisan legislators may propose amendments. Although in cryptocurrency market structure discussions, the commodity aspect (including CFTC’s regulatory authority over spot markets) is generally considered less controversial than the securities aspect, this discussion draft still carries distinct partisan characteristics. It has not yet received endorsement from key Democratic negotiators, despite incorporating many previously negotiated terms with Democrats.
This legislative text from the Senate Agriculture Committee largely aligns with market expectations overall, with its core being the establishment of a digital commodity spot market regulatory framework centered around the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Compared to related topics being discussed by the Senate Banking Committee, this version has a narrower scope and relatively lower political sensitivity and controversy.
