Key Highlights
- The Senate Agriculture Committee approved a crypto bill in a 12-11 party-line vote, moving it closer to the full Senate.
- Democrats opposed the vote, and several proposed amendments on ethics, crypto fraud, and federal bailouts were rejected.
- The bill now needs approval from the Senate Banking Committee and must be merged with the House version before becoming law.
The Senate Agriculture Committee voted on Thursday to move forward with the crypto market structure bill, sending it to the full Senate floor without support from both parties. The committee has reportedly approved the bill in a close 12-11 vote, giving new regulatory powers to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over digital tokens.
The bill will later need to be merged with another part overseen by the Senate Banking Committee, which focuses on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The vote follows months of delay and discussion between Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, a Republican from Arkansas, and Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey. However, an agreement was not made, so Boozman moved forward with a Republican-only bill. “There were fundamental policy disagreements,” Boozman said. He added, “It is now time to move this process forward.”
He described the bill as defining digital commodities clearly and providing the CFTC with the resources to take on its new responsibilities.
Democrats oppose party-line votes and amendments
Sen. Cory Booker criticized the GOP-only approach, saying Republicans abandoned the bipartisan process. That frustrates me because I see a bipartisan glide path to land this plane, to punch through the end zone,” he said.
Several Democratic-backed amendments were rejected, including a proposal from Sen. Michael Bennet that would stop federal officials and their families from issuing or endorsing digital assets. Other proposals, including measures to prevent crypto ATM fraud and to stop some crypto firms from getting federal bailouts, were also voted down along party lines.
Senator Amy Klobuchar, the committee’s ranking Democrat, said that while progress was made, more work is needed. “The progress that has been made here is good, but I think we believe that we’re not quite done yet,” she said.
Boozman noted that the bill can still be updated through manager amendments before it reaches the full Senate. He also agreed that the CFTC should have a full team of commissioners as it takes on crypto oversight.
Next steps for crypto oversight
After clearing the Agriculture Committee, the bill must pass the Senate Banking Committee and then be combined with its counterpart from the House. The House has already passed a version of the bill with strong support.
Meanwhile, the White House is expected to host another meeting next week to bring together crypto, banking, and political interests. U.S. President Donald Trump and his representatives have opposed some ethics provisions that Democrats wanted in the bill, citing conflicts of interest concerns.
This development represents one of the furthest steps the crypto industry has achieved in Congress. Last year, the space secured a major victory when the GENIUS Act bill, aimed at regulating stablecoins, was passed into law.
If this new bill is passed, it would give investors more confidence to trade digital assets and spread the adoption of cryptocurrency.
Also Read: Crypto in 401(k)s? SEC Chair Paul Atkins Says ‘Time is Right’
