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The US Senate has crossed a line it had not reached before on crypto. On January 30, 2026, the Senate Agriculture Committee voted 12–11 to advance its version of a crypto market structure bill, pushing digital asset legislation beyond a committee stage for the first time. The move does not settle the rules for crypto markets. It changes the posture of the debate. Lawmakers are no longer asking whether a framework is needed. They are negotiating what kind of framework survives.
The bill, often referred to as the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission authority over spot markets for digital commodities. It defines digital commodities, sets registration rules for intermediaries, and adds disclosure and conflict-of-interest requirements. Committee Chair John Boozman said the goal is to provide clear rules while adding basic consumer safeguards.
Under Chairman @JohnBoozman’s leadership, the Senate Ag Committee advanced crypto market structure legislation. This is a big move for consumer protection and innovation. pic.twitter.com/w0KpL2WXWM
— Senate Ag Committee Republicans (@SenateAgGOP) January 29, 2026
The vote followed less than an hour of debate and a small set of amendments, all of which failed along party lines. Democratic proposals targeting ethics rules and limits on public officials crypto activity did not make it into the text. A separate amendment aimed at blocking any future federal support for failing crypto intermediaries also failed, with Boozman arguing that the bill already grants no such authority.
This bill cannot reach the Senate floor on its own. The Senate Banking Committee is drafting its own version of crypto market structure legislation. That effort was delayed earlier this month after pushback from the crypto industry, including Coinbase, which cited concerns tied to stablecoin yield treatment and other provisions.
Both committees must combine their texts before leadership can schedule a floor vote. Industry policy leads have been blunt about that reality. Anchorage Digital’s head of policy Kevin Wysocki said that merging the two bills on a bipartisan basis is the only viable path forward, in comments shared with Cointelegraph. Until that happens, the Agriculture Committee vote signals momentum, not resolution.
Democratic senators framed their opposition around two themes. Democratic senators framed their opposition around two themes. The first focused on ethics. Cory Booker said the latest draft moved away from a bipartisan process outlined in November 2025 and did not address concerns tied to President Donald Trump’s crypto business interests. Proposals to bar elected officials from holding digital assets were rejected, with committee leaders saying the issue fell outside the committee’s jurisdiction.
The second issue is capacity. Senator Amy Klobuchar warned against handing broad new authority to a CFTC that currently has only one confirmed commissioner. Her amendment to require at least four commissioners before implementation failed 12–11. The agency remains understaffed following resignations in 2025, with no new nominations announced as of January 2026.
This vote does not settle jurisdiction fights between the SEC and CFTC. It does not resolve stablecoin yield disputes that divide banks and crypto firms. What it does is force those questions into a narrower lane. For the first time, a Senate committee has put its name on a crypto market structure bill and sent it forward.
From here, progress depends on whether lawmakers can stitch together two competing drafts and restore some level of bipartisan trust. If they cannot, this bill becomes another marker of intent rather than a rulebook markets can use.
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