The Senate Banking Committee released a draft bill Tuesday that would treat XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), and more the same way regulators currently treat Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) — as commodities, not securities.
How Tokens Get Bitcoin-Like Treatment
The draft specifies that tokens qualify as “non-ancillary assets” if served as the principal asset of an ETF listed on a national securities exchange as of January 1.
That means it escapes SEC securities rules and doesn’t need to file the same disclosures other crypto projects do.
This matters because every altcoin ETF that launched before New Year’s Day just gave those tokens a regulatory hall pass.
XRP, SOL, DOGE, Litecoin (CRYPTO: LTC), Hedera (CRYPTO: HBAR), and Chainlink (CRYPTO: LINK) all qualify based on ETFs already trading on major exchanges.
What “Non-Ancillary” Actually Means
Bitcoin has always been treated as a commodity like gold, regulated by the CFTC.
Most altcoins have lived in regulatory limbo, with the SEC suggesting they might be securities requiring registration.
The bill creates a formal definition of “network tokens” — digital assets tied to blockchain networks that don’t give holders ownership rights, profit shares, or voting control over a company.
If a token fits that definition and powers a sufficiently decentralized network, it’s a commodity.
The SEC would set standards for measuring decentralization. Once a network passes that test, secondary market trading no longer triggers securities laws, even if the original token sale looked like an investment contract.
Why ETF Sponsors Have Been Waiting For This
Asset managers have filed applications for XRP ETFs, Solana ETFs, and other altcoin products but couldn’t get approval because regulators wouldn’t confirm whether those tokens are commodities or securities.
This bill solves that problem by making ETF eligibility itself the proof that a token deserves commodity treatment.
The bill also protects exchanges and market makers from inheriting regulatory risk just because they handle tokens.
Buying XRP on Coinbase wouldn’t be treated as a securities transaction, even if Ripple’s original XRP sales decades ago were.
Bill Protects DeFi Developers, Bans Stablecoin Yield
The draft includes two ethics provisions: felony conviction rules and insider trading language.
Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett noted these are the only ethics provisions Banking Committee can include — other ethics rules fall under different committees.
Section 601 protects software developers who build DeFi protocols.
This came after DeFi companies and traditional banks reached a compromise this week following heated negotiations as Banks were worried crypto protocols could be used as loopholes to avoid financial regulations.
The bill also bans crypto companies from paying interest on stablecoins.
This is a major win for traditional banks, who didn’t want stablecoin issuers like Tether or Circle competing by offering yield on dollar deposits.
Thursday Vote Could Open Altcoin ETF Floodgates
The Senate Banking Committee marks up the bill Thursday, meaning senators can propose changes before voting.
If it passes as written, the regulatory barrier blocking altcoin ETFs disappears.
That doesn’t guarantee instant approvals, but asset managers who shelved applications for Solana ETFs or XRP ETFs would have a clear legal path to resubmit.
Jordan Jefferson, Founder of DogeOS, said the immediate impact would be less about prices and more about compliance, as a clearer statutory path widens the set of institutions allowed to engage with these tokens.
Image: Shutterstock
$BTCBitcoin$93600.012.64%Overview$DOGEDogecoin$0.14314.82%$HBARHedera$0.11903.51%$LINKChainlink$13.604.12%$LTCLitecoin$75.99-0.07%$SOLSolana$143.152.96%$XRPRipple$2.112.69%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
