US lawmakers just unveiled the new draft for a bill that aims to give regulatory clarity to the crypto markets.
The proposed “Digital Asset Market Structure Draft” introduced by the House Committee on Financial Services and House Committee on Agriculture to create a legal framework that will work for all stakeholders amid existing regulatory deficiencies in the space.
“This functional framework would provide digital asset firms with regulatory certainty and fill the gap that exists between the authorities of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).”
The draft bill also clarifies the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over digital assets as the two agencies tend to clash on the issue of regulating the nascent industry.
“The Digital Asset Market Structure Discussion Draft (Discussion Draft) provides the CFTC with jurisdiction over digital commodities and clarifies the SEC’s jurisdiction over digital assets offered as part of an investment contract.”
The draft also aims to bring clarity on whether a certain crypto asset is a security or a commodity. According to the document, a crypto asset can be considered a digital commodity if the issuer can prove that the project is functional and decentralized.
“The Act specifies that a digital asset can be considered a digital commodity if certain conditions are met. This would be determined by the network being functional and considered decentralized.
The Act includes definitions for a decentralized network and a functional network and provides a certification process under which a digital asset issuer may certify to the SEC that the network on which the digital asset relates is decentralized.”
