The Senate Agriculture Committee released its portion of the crypto market structure bill last week after months of negotiations, providing the companion to draft text released by the Senate Banking Committee in July.
The new 155-page discussion draft was able to secure bipartisan support — a key feat that has so far eluded the Senate Banking panel. However, it also leaves numerous policy issues unsettled, with the entire section on decentralized finance still missing from the draft text.
"The key component that stands out is really that there's these gaps in the bill, either placeholder text or text that's missing altogether, that are sort of indicative of the fact that this is really a work in progress," said Chris Niebuhr, a senior research analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors.
While Congress passed the GENIUS Act earlier this year to regulate dollar-backed cryptocurrencies known as stablecoins, the centerpiece of digital asset legislation is market structure, which aims to clarify when digital tokens are considered securities or commodities in order to determine the relevant regulator.
The drafting process was widely expected to be more complicated and drawn-out than that of stablecoin legislation given that it covers a broader swath of the crypto market and falls under the jurisdiction of two committees in each chamber of Congress.
The House Financial Services and Agriculture committees jointly introduced their version of the market structure bill, the Clarity Act, which passed the House in July.
But the Senate is forging ahead with its version of the legislation, with its two committees also proceeding on separate tracks.
Senate Banking Republicans released their discussion draft shortly after the passage of the GENIUS Act.
They have since sought to negotiate with crypto-friendly Senate Democrats on the language, a process that briefly fell apart in October over a leaked policy proposal.
The Senate Agriculture Committee instead opted to negotiate before releasing a draft, leading to a months-long delay but allowing for a bipartisan product that has the backing of both Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on the subcommittee overseeing digital assets.
"It took a long time to get there … but I think we would prefer it taking longer but getting bipartisan support because they're already now a leg up on the other committee," the Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone told The Hill.
However, the draft text is still a way off from being finalized. In addition to the missing section on decentralized finance, several portions of the bill are in brackets, signifying that they remain unresolved.
Check out the full report at TheHill.com.
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