The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee has released a long-awaited draft of its part of a bill that could reshape how cryptocurrencies are regulated in the country.
The proposal, unveiled Monday by Republican Senator John Boozman of Arkansas and Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, marks a key step toward building a federal framework for digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ether.
The draft gives the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) broader powers to oversee trading in digital commodities. This would formally bring parts of the crypto market under the same regulator that oversees commodities.
The goal is to create clearer rules after years of confusion if crypto should be treated as securities or commodities. This draft aims to clarify these doubts.
In a statement, Senator Boozman said, “The CFTC is the right agency to regulate spot digital commodity trading, and it is essential to establish clear rules for the emerging crypto market while also protecting consumers. This discussion draft advances those goals and lays an important marker as we work toward final policy language.”
Senator Booker added that more Americans are using digital financial tools than ever before, and Congress must act to guard against scams and misuse without stifling innovation.
The draft lays out protections for consumers, including keeping customer funds separate, preventing conflicts of interest, requiring clear disclosures, and limiting certain related-party trading. It also sets rules to make markets more liquid and resilient while safeguarding retail investors.
Additionally, it encourages the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to coordinate on regulations, supports self-custody and new technologies, and provides funding for the CFTC to manage its expanded role.
The bipartisan draft is only a step in the overall legislation. The Senate Banking Committee handles digital securities. Both committees must merge proposals for a full law. Both committees will need to merge their proposals into a single bill before it can move forward.
Many sections still have brackets, meaning key terms and definitions are still being negotiated. Lawmakers have yet to agree on what counts as a “digital commodity” or how the CFTC should coordinate with the SEC, which currently claims authority over large parts of the crypto market.
Leadership concerns
The draft also highlights concerns about leadership at the CFTC. The agency currently has only one member, acting Chair Caroline Pham, a Republican. President Trump has nominated Mike Selig, a crypto regulator at the SEC, to become Chair, but no other commissioners have been named yet, leaving the agency short-staffed as it prepares to take on more responsibilities.
The draft says the CFTC must make rules on “identification, mitigation, and resolution of conflicts of interest.” This is for companies and people who trade or regulate crypto, especially those running both trading platforms and market-making.
These rules must be ready within 18 months. They cover conflicts “related to market regulation functions and vertically integrated market structures.” The goal is to keep everything fair and transparent.
Senator Booker has urged the White House to appoint more commissioners from both parties, warning that a lack of balance could weaken oversight and allow conflicts of interest. Democrats have also raised concerns about the Trump family’s growing ties to the crypto industry, including the president’s own “memecoin.”
The draft doesn’t have a final policy language yet. But it shows the Senate is moving toward real rules for an industry that has operated in a gray zone. Political differences and unresolved details mean it could take months before a full law is ready.