U.S. House Republicans Introduce Digital Asset Market Clarity Act
Leading Republicans in the House have introduced the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, aiming to create a regulatory framework for digital asset markets. This follows the previous FIT21 initiative and is positioned as a crucial step for U.S. crypto legislation.
- The bill grants the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) exclusive authority over cash or spot markets involving digital commodities.
- Crypto platforms can register with either the CFTC or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), based on their activities.
- Certain decentralized finance (DeFi) operations are exempt from SEC oversight.
- The bill requires crypto firms to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act regulations.
- It prohibits regulators from forcing custody firms to hold customer assets on their balance sheets.
- The legislation sets standards for "qualified digital asset custodians" under defined regulations.
- Regulators will study DeFi and NFTs, with reports due within a year.
- Market structure rules must be implemented within a year if enacted, which is a tight timeframe for such complex regulation.
The Senate is expected to debate a stablecoin bill that has bipartisan support, but its alignment with the House's efforts remains uncertain. Discussions about combining the stablecoin and market structure bills continue, with an ambitious goal of reaching a consensus by the August congressional break.