Who controls tokens? Democrats want to do it the other way around
On November 4, Eleanor Terrett of Fox Business reported on a proposal under discussion: House Democrats are preparing to introduce a crypto market structure bill in the next Congress.
Its blueprint is the Crypto Investors and Consumers Rights Act, an amendment Waters proposed to CLARITY in June 2025. It was rejected on the spot.
The proposal would change the division of responsibilities between the SEC and the CFTC. CLARITY assigns the broad category of digital commodities to the CFTC, leaving the SEC to oversee investment contract assets with financing characteristics. This version flips that around: the SEC would oversee more, and the CFTC less.
The same coin is a commodity in the CFTC’s hands; in the SEC’s hands, it has to prove it isn’t a security.
The proposal would also add ethics provisions restricting the president and other federal officials from engaging in crypto. CLARITY failed in the Senate in September. Democrats said the ethics provisions weren’t strict enough: they restricted only the official and their spouse, not their children, and gave enforcement authority to the Justice Department, which is run by Trump’s former lawyer. Trump and his family reported $1.4 billion in crypto income in 2025.
Even with Democrats controlling both chambers, this bill still won’t become law. The Senate needs 60 votes, and media forecasts say Democrats will win 54 seats this time, leaving them to find six votes among Republicans. Even if it passes, there’s still the veto: overriding one requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber. Republicans call it a “messaging bill”—just for show.
I’m keeping an eye on the Federal Register instead. The SEC proposed crypto asset rules this year, and the CFTC proposed an exchange framework on October 5. Neither requires a congressional vote. Each item there comes with a comment deadline, which is more concrete than a post saying “Democrats want to legislate.”
On November 4, Eleanor Terrett of Fox Business reported on a proposal under discussion: House Democrats are preparing to introduce a crypto market structure bill in the next Congress.
Its blueprint is the Crypto Investors and Consumers Rights Act, an amendment Waters proposed to CLARITY in June 2025. It was rejected on the spot.
The proposal would change the division of responsibilities between the SEC and the CFTC. CLARITY assigns the broad category of digital commodities to the CFTC, leaving the SEC to oversee investment contract assets with financing characteristics. This version flips that around: the SEC would oversee more, and the CFTC less.
The same coin is a commodity in the CFTC’s hands; in the SEC’s hands, it has to prove it isn’t a security.
The proposal would also add ethics provisions restricting the president and other federal officials from engaging in crypto. CLARITY failed in the Senate in September. Democrats said the ethics provisions weren’t strict enough: they restricted only the official and their spouse, not their children, and gave enforcement authority to the Justice Department, which is run by Trump’s former lawyer. Trump and his family reported $1.4 billion in crypto income in 2025.
Even with Democrats controlling both chambers, this bill still won’t become law. The Senate needs 60 votes, and media forecasts say Democrats will win 54 seats this time, leaving them to find six votes among Republicans. Even if it passes, there’s still the veto: overriding one requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber. Republicans call it a “messaging bill”—just for show.
I’m keeping an eye on the Federal Register instead. The SEC proposed crypto asset rules this year, and the CFTC proposed an exchange framework on October 5. Neither requires a congressional vote. Each item there comes with a comment deadline, which is more concrete than a post saying “Democrats want to legislate.”
