US Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman said Republicans on the panel have yet to reach common ground with Democrats on several “fundamental policy issues” tied to crypto market structure legislation.
The remarks came as the committee released a Republican draft of the bill on Wednesday, ahead of a scheduled markup on Tuesday, Jan. 27. The proposal does not currently have the backing of Democratic members of the committee.
“While differences remain on fundamental policy issues, this bill builds on our bipartisan discussion draft, incorporates stakeholder feedback, and reflects months of work,” Boozman said.
“Although it’s unfortunate that we couldn’t reach an agreement, I am grateful for the collaboration that has made this legislation better. It’s time we move this bill, and I look forward to the markup next week.”
The legislation seeks to establish a regulatory framework governing crypto markets under the oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The Republican draft also includes protections for crypto developers. Crypto attorney James Murphy, known online as “MetaLawMan,” said the bill “creates a pathway for DeFi to avoid falling under CFTC regulation.”
According to Murphy, the proposal shields DeFi software developers and certain service providers from liability under CFTC rules. He added that the bill does not address stablecoin yield, noting that such matters fall within the jurisdiction of the Senate Banking Committee.
Bill Hughes, a lawyer at Ethereum software firm Consensys, further explained:
“In sum, the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act: Does not regulate self-custody wallets, Does not regulate non-custodial DeFi interfaces, Regulates any platform that takes custody or controls execution, and Focuses squarely on intermediaries, not protocols or users.”
The release of the draft bill comes as reports suggest the Senate Banking Committee’s version of the crypto market structure legislation may be delayed until February or March.
