Bitcoin
BTC
, ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies are searching for direction after powering higher through July (though a “hundred-pound gorilla” is “closer by the day”).
The bitcoin price has helped the broader crypto market—including ethereum, BNB, XRP, solana, cardano and dogecoin—to rally despite a serious warning some other cryptocurrencies could go the same way as the experimental stablecoin terraUSD and its support coin luna.
Now, a Senate committee has introduced a bill that would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “exclusive” oversight over a newly-created asset class called digital commodities that includes bitcoin and ethereum while excluding other cryptocurrencies deemed securities—a tighter definition than other proposed crypto bills.
Want to stay ahead of the market and understand the latest crypto news? Sign up now for the free CryptoCodex—A daily newsletter for traders, investors and the crypto-curious
The cryptocurrency market is headed toward a regulatory shake up in coming months as watchdogs … [+]
AFP via Getty Images
The Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022, introduced by the Senate Agriculture Committee this week, would see the CFTC regulate spot markets for digital commodities, amending the Commodity Exchange Act without going as far as to define which cryptocurrencies are securities.
The Agriculture Committee is expected to hold a hearing on the bill as early as September, according to comments made by Democrat Senate Agriculture Committee chairwoman Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and reported by the Wall Street Journal.
“These rules hold digital commodity platforms to the same standards as traditional financial institutions,” the Senate committee said in a statement. “Without appropriate oversight, customers will continue to be vulnerable to fraud and manipulation, and market participants will lack the regulatory certainty necessary to innovate and grow.”
In recent months, the battle among U.S. federal agencies and congressional committees over who will regulate the red-hot crypto market has intensified. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Federal Reserve have both lobbied for oversight of crypto, potentially increasing their budgets and clout.
The debate over whether some cryptocurrencies should be considered securities has been set alight by the SEC after it branded a handful of digital currencies securities as part of an insider trading case brought against a former product manager at the crypto exchange Coinbase.
Sign up now for CryptoCodex—A free, daily newsletter for the crypto-curious
The bitcoin price has swung wildly this year, playing havoc with the price of smaller … [+]
Forbes Digital Assets
Meanwhile, the have been a flurry of bills introduced over recent months in an attempt to draw jurisdictional lines around cryptocurrencies. The huge crypto price crash this year—wiping $2 trillion from the combined value of top ten coins bitcoin, ethereum, BNB
BNB
, XRP
XRP
, solana, cardano and dogecoin—has galvanized regulators and lawmakers into action.
This week, the newly-sworn in CFTC commissioner Caroline Pham pushed back against claims the regulator cannot police digital markets, telling Forbes, “it’s really important that people understand that the CFTC regulates not only the most complex products in the world.”
“The CFTC has brought more than 50 enforcement actions in the crypto space since about 2015, when we first came out with our action that said that bitcoin was a commodity,” Pham said.
