U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) speaks on the day Brian Quintenz, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) testifies before a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 10, 2025.
Annabelle Gordon | Reuters
The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee voted along party lines on Thursday to advance its version of a cryptocurrency market structure bill to create CFTC regulatory authority over digital commodities, a major development for digital asset regulation.
The Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act advanced on a party line-vote with 12 Republicans voting “yes” and 11 Democrats voting “no.” The vote is notable because it marks the fist time a crypto market structure bill has advanced beyond a Senate committee. The Senate Banking Committee would also need to approve its version of a crypto market structure bill before the two measures could combine and advance to the full Senate.
Bill sponsor Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., advanced the bill after losing bipartisan support for an earlier version. Boozman had worked with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., on a draft bill last year, but Booker walked away from the version the committee voted on Thursday. However, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said in an interview with CNBC last week that she was “very optimistic” the Agriculture Committee would advance its measure.
Boozman, the Senate Agriculture Committee chairman, released the present bill version Jan. 21 to give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission new authority to regulate digital assets.
In a statement on Jan. 21, Boozman said some “fundamental policy issues” remain but that the bill “builds on our bipartisan discussion draft while incorporating input from stakeholders and represents months of work.”
Democrats offered amendments that would have included banning public officials –including the president – from engaging in the crypto industry and addressing involvement in digital commodities from foreign adversaries. None were approved.
The Senate Banking Committee’s consideration of its version of the bill was postponed from Jan. 15 at the last minute after opposition from the crypto industry, including Coinbase. A new Banking date has yet been set. Boozman said Thursday that he looks forward to working with the Banking Committee on issues discussed in his committee. Those points include scams linked to crypto ATMs.
This is a developing story. Stay with CNBC.com for updates.
