U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-Arkansas) speaks on the day Brian Quintenz, nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), testifies during his Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee confirmation hearing at the U.S. Capitol on June 10, 2025, in Washington, DC.
Annabelle Gordon Reuter
The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday voted along party lines to advance the Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act to create a CFTC regulatory authority for digital goods, a major development in digital asset regulation.
The Digital Goods Intermediary Act was advanced on a party-line vote, with 12 Republicans voting “yes” and 11 Democrats voting “no.” This vote is notable as it marks the first time that a virtual currency market structure bill has advanced beyond a Senate committee. The Senate Banking Committee also needs to approve a version of the Virtual Currency Market Structure Act before the two bills can be combined and sent to the full Senate.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-Ark.) advanced the bill after losing bipartisan support for an earlier version. Boozman worked on a draft bill last year with Sen. Cory Booker (D.N.J.), but Booker withdrew from the version the committee voted on Thursday. But Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D.Y.) said in an interview with CNBC last week that she was “very optimistic” that the Agriculture Committee would move forward with the measure.
Boozman said in a statement Thursday that the vote was “an important step toward creating clear rules for digital asset markets.” “There’s still a lot of work left to do,” he said, adding that he hopes this development “will build momentum to advance this bill in the Senate.”
Boozman released the current version of the bill on January 21 to give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission new powers to regulate digital assets. Boozman said the bill builds on the CLARITY Act, a bipartisan cryptocurrency market structure bill passed by the House last summer, and incorporates provisions negotiated with Senate Democrats and input from bipartisan meetings with stakeholders.
The Democratic Party proposed amendments that would prohibit public officials, including the president, from getting involved in the cryptocurrency industry, and address the involvement of foreign adversaries in digital products. None were approved.
Consideration of the bill by the Senate Banking Committee was postponed at the last minute from January 15 due to opposition from the crypto industry, including Coinbase. New banking dates have not yet been set. Boozman said Thursday that he looks forward to working with the Banking Committee on the issues discussed there. These points also include scams related to cryptocurrency ATMs.
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