US Legislators Draft Crypto Regulation Framework Bill
US politicians just released a new draft of a bill that aims to make it clear how the crypto markets should be regulated.
The “Digital Asset Market Structure Draft” put forward by the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Agriculture is an attempt to build a legal framework that works for everyone. This is needed because there aren’t enough rules in place right now.
“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 makes it clear what the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can and can’t do when it comes to digital assets. This is important because the two agencies often disagree about how to regulate this new 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 bill also wants to make it clear whether a certain crypto asset is a security or a commodity. The document says that a crypto asset can be called a digital commodity if the person who made it can show that the project is working and not controlled by a single person or group.
“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.”