U.S. Senate Committee to Release Draft Crypto Guidance for CFTC

The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture plans to release a draft discussion for the CFTC on how it would regulate the crypto industry alongside the SEC. This move to release the CFTC crypto guidance comes just a day after the Banking Committee released the draft market structure bill, which mainly focused on the SEC’s role.

What The CFTC Crypto Guidance Entails

In an X post, Journalist Eleanor Terrett revealed that the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC, plans to release its discussion draft in early September, citing persons familiar with the plans.

The CFTC crypto guidance will address the Commission’s regulatory purview with respect to the industry. As Terrett noted, the Senate Banking Committee oversees the SEC, which is why the crypto market structure bill it released yesterday focused primarily on the agency’s role.

These two draft bills will ultimately come together to form the market structure bill at some point. The journalist also revealed that the Agriculture Committee is aiming for a bipartisan draft, with contributions from ranking members, including Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar.

The proposed September release for the CFTC crypto guidance coincides with when the Senators will resume from their recess. Meanwhile, the White House has already given Congress a September deadline to pass the market structure following the signing of the GENIUS Act.

The Commission’s Role In Regulating The Industry

The draft crypto market structure bill already acknowledges the Commission’s role in regulating the crypto industry, as digital assets will be considered commodities rather than securities. For instance, the proposed legislation mandates the CFTC and SEC to work together and jointly issue rules that will apply to crypto entities registered under them.

The market structure bill also proposes that the Commission will make a decision not later than 270 days after the filing of a completed application on crypto-related matters. The Senate Agriculture Committee is also likely to include these provisions in the draft CFTC crypto guidance.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the Banking Committee already requested for information on whether the market structure bill strikes the right balance in allocating jurisdiction over digital assets between the SEC and CFTC.

While the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committee drafts will come together to form the market structure bill, it remains unclear if the Senate will focus on this bill, which is its version of the CLARITY Act, or add key provisions to the House’s CLARITY Act.