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Ahmed Balaha
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Crypto regulation might finally be getting real structure. President Donald Trump just confirmed that a full crypto structure bill is close to passing. That is not small talk. That is a potential turning point.
For years, the CFTC and SEC have been battling over who controls what. Now it sounds like a clearer rulebook could arrive sooner than expected.
- Presidential Confirmation: Trump signals imminent passage of S. 3755/H.R. 3633 framework.
- Jurisdiction Split: Legislation formally divides oversight between SEC (securities) and CFTC (commodities).
- Rapid Timeline: Provisional registration for exchanges expected within 180 days of enactment.
The End of the Regulatory Turf War?
The House already moved first. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act passed last July, laying out a framework that splits oversight between the CFTC and SEC. The real bottleneck has been the Senate.
In late January, the Senate Agriculture Committee narrowly advanced its own version, the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, in a tight 12 to 11 vote. That shows how divided the room still is.
There has been pushback too. Major industry players like Coinbase criticized earlier drafts, saying they boxed in DeFi and made stablecoin rules too restrictive.
By stepping in now, Trump is trying to break that gridlock and push the bill across the finish line after earlier Senate efforts stalled.
Mechanics of the New Crypto Market Structure Bill
Under the proposal, the CFTC would take primary control over digital commodities like Bitcoin and Ethereum. That alone would clear up years of confusion.
The bill also gives brokers and exchanges a 180 day window to register and secure provisional status once it becomes law. That is a fast track compared to the current gray zone many platforms operate in.
The goal is to end the murky compliance environment that has left firms exposed to freezes and counterparty risk.
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig has suggested the bill could reach the President within months. That lines up with other moves aimed at pulling crypto deeper into traditional finance. The framework would also require joint SEC and CFTC rulemaking within 18 months to sort out complex areas like mixed transactions and margin structures.
Market Implications and Deadlines
Passage of this bill would likely trigger a repricing of “commodity” assets currently suppressed by SEC lawsuits.
However, hurdles remain. The Senate Banking Committee still needs to reconcile its version with the Ag Committee’s draft before the February 28 White House deadline for stablecoin frameworks.
Meanwhile, scrutiny hasn’t vanished. Congressional leaders continue to urge probes into Trump-linked ventures like WLFI, ensuring that while regulation arrives, political volatility isn’t going anywhere.
