According to data released today by market analyst Crypto Rover, the US Senate Banking Committee has launched a crypto market structure draft bill. The draft, released before midnight yesterday by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, resolved lingering concerns lawmakers were discussing in the crypto market structure bill.
This crypto market structure legislation is a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, which the US Congress is currently developing to provide clear regulations for blueprint guidance to serve investors’ and consumers’ interests and establish regulatory clarity that supports America’s leadership and innovation on virtual tokens.
The draft bill is an opportunity for legislators to fix any attempt to bypass the intention of the GENIUS Act. Some of the things that try to move away from the GENIUS Act’s intent include prohibiting stablecoins from paying yield (interest), concerns around illicit finance risks created by crypto operations, among others.
US Senate Banking Committee Unveils Crypto Market Structure Bill
The draft bill unveiled yesterday’s night amended last year’s House-passed Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. As a result, the draft defined digital commodities as non-security tokens due to their decentralized nature and usage as a medium of exchange. Secondly, the draft bill handed the crypto spot market oversight over to the CFTC, giving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) a greater role in supervising spot cryptocurrency and stablecoin trading. On the other hand, the bill delegated the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) to oversee the trading of securities-related assets.
Moving down, while the bill exempted DeFi platforms and non-custodial protocols from mandatory registration, the draft stated that such networks must enforce and maintain anti-fraud laws in their day-to-day operations. While the bill exempted some stablecoins from qualifying as securities, it remained silent on stablecoin rewards.
Lastly, the bill once again prohibited the Federal Reserve from creating a CBDC for monetary policy. US lawmakers regard the technology as a threat to financial freedom and privacy, considering it inconsistent with America’s fundamental democratic values.
Why this Draft Bill Matters
While Banking Committee leaders such as Tim Scott endorsed the draft bill for putting priority on innovation and mainstream businesses and consumers, other legislators criticized it for weakened fraud safeguards. Another draft bill review is scheduled this week on January 15, with the Senate Agriculture Committee planning to hold a markup hearing and vote on Thursday.
The CLARITY Act, which was passed in a 294-134 vote on 17 July 2025, divided the crypto industry. Despite many lawmakers voted in favor of the bill, some insist that more work still needs to be done to completely fix existing regulatory gaps.
