Upcoming Senate Hearing to Address Key Cryptocurrency Market Legislation

On January 25, Galaxy Research Director Alex Thorn announced on the X platform that a crucial hearing in the legislative process for cryptocurrency market structure is scheduled for next week. According to BlockBeats, the Senate Agriculture Committee's Republicans have released a draft of the Digital Commodity Exchange Act. This draft is expected to be merged with related legislation from the Senate Banking Committee to form a comprehensive Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act. The Senate Agriculture Committee, responsible for overseeing the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), focuses the draft on the digital commodity market, primarily granting the CFTC exclusive regulatory authority over the spot crypto market, including trading platforms, dealers, and brokers. The committee plans to hold a hearing on January 27 (Tuesday) to amend the bill, where bipartisan lawmakers may propose amendments. Although the commodity aspect of the crypto market structure discussion, including the CFTC's regulatory authority over the spot market, is generally considered less contentious than the securities aspect, the draft still carries a noticeable partisan tone. It has yet to receive endorsement from key Democratic negotiators, despite incorporating several provisions previously agreed upon with Democrats. Overall, the legislative text from the Senate Agriculture Committee aligns with market expectations, centering on establishing a regulatory framework for the digital commodity spot market with the CFTC at its core. Compared to related topics under discussion by the Senate Banking Committee, this version has a narrower scope and is relatively less politically sensitive and controversial.