The United States’ proposal to place cryptocurrencies under the control of the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission is being projected to speed up efforts to regulate the digital assets internationally.
U.S. officials have released plans for a new bill that would see Bitcoin and Ethereum classified as digital commodities, thereby subjecting them to oversight by the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), along with conventional commodities like corn and aluminum.
The bill further states that no security may be simultaneously labeled as a commodity, and would firmly bring such assets under the SEC’s jurisdiction.
In their attempts to regulate cryptocurrencies, U.S. officials have been utilizing legacy framework that was not created with cryptocurrencies in mind. Due to the resulting ambiguity around which agencies are responsible for which digital assets, investors have been left without explicit protections in the event of fraud.
The Second Significant Milestone in Legislation
The plans for the new bill were unveiled by Senate of Agriculture Committee Chairperson Debbie Stabenow and Senator John Boozman. The legislation is being put forwards as politicians worldwide rush to formulate regulations for cryptocurrency in the wake of Terra’s collapse (LUNA).
The proposal represents the second significant piece of U.S. legislation to have been suggested recently. The first was the bill addressing stablecoins, which was revealed in June. A vote on the bill was scheduled to take place in July, but was delayed. The submitted stablecoin legislation specifies how stablecoins should be regulated, and classifies numerous cryptocurrencies as commodities.
