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5 things to watch as Senate ramps up crypto market bill push 

15 8
09.09.2025

The Senate is expected to ramp up efforts this fall to pass a bill delineating oversight of the crypto market — the crown jewel of digital asset legislation.

The path forward is unlikely to be smooth sailing, as key policy questions remain in the face of persistent concerns about President Trump’s crypto dealings.

Here are five key issues to watch.

What will Senate Agriculture do?

Shortly after the House passed its version of the market structure bill in July, Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee unveiled a discussion draft laying out their own take on the legislation.

They released a revised draft last week, adding in new provisions on securities tokenization and developer protections.

But because market structure is a joint effort between the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees, Agriculture will have a say. The bill seeks to split crypto regulation between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) overseen by Banking, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) overseen by Agriculture.

The CFTC is widely expected to take up new responsibilities in the digital asset space. The House version, known as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, shifts a significant share of these duties to the relatively low-profile agency.

House, Senate differences could draw out process

Even once both portions of the Senate bill are in hand, it’s unclear how much the final version will differ from the legislation that cleared the House last month.

“They've taken different approaches to defining and regulating different types of crypto investment contracts,” noted Jennifer Schulp, director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives.

One key difference between the two bills so far is the upper chamber’s use of the concept known as ancillary assets, which excludes........

© The Hill