Senate Bill Granting CFTC Authority Over Crypto Spot Markets Advances

The Senate Agriculture Committee has voted to advance the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act (DCIA) onto a chamber-wide vote.

What's the Scoop?

• Novel Authority: DCIA would expand the authorities of the Commodity Exchange Act to an unprecedented degree, empowering the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) absolute jurisdiction over spot digital asset transactions.
• Close Vote: Although represented as building on previous bipartisan legislation and touted as the product of negotiations with Senate Democrats and other relevant "stakeholders," DCIA was advanced strictly along party lines; 12 Republicans voted for and 11 Democrats voted against the bill.
• Possible Reconciliation: The U.S. federal government is barreling toward a shutdown, which could certainly throw a wrench in crypto clarity legislative progress. Agriculture's DCIA may be reconciled with Banking's DAMCA at some point in the future to produce omnibus digital asset clarity legislation.