Democrat lawmakers have introduced a comprehensive legislative blueprint aimed at reshaping U.S. digital asset regulation, proposing to close longstanding gaps in crypto oversight and restore investor confidence in the nearly $4 trillion market, according to a newly released framework.
The proposed plan would grant the CFTC full jurisdiction over spot markets for digital commodities, tokens that do not qualify as securities, resolving the regulatory ambiguity that has left both businesses and investors without clear protections. It also calls for the CFTC to be given new registration and enforcement authority, as well as mandatory disclosures and consumer protections for crypto trading platforms.
The framework sets out seven core pillars for digital asset legislation, including clarifying token classification, adapting securities rules for token issuers, bringing crypto platforms under exchange-like regulation, and strengthening illicit finance safeguards. It proposes a dual approach, empowering the SEC to integrate tokenized securities into existing disclosure regimes while instructing the CFTC to police non-security digital assets.
Both agencies would gain expanded funding and authority to regulate custody, margin, and conflicts of interest under crypto-native business models. Significantly, the framework calls for new controls to prevent public officials from abusing digital asset projects.
It references President Donald Trump’s financial entanglement
The bill also directs regulators to build new oversight models for DeFi protocols and to safeguard traditional markets from the destabilizing effects of unregulated innovations. It reiterates prohibitions on stablecoin issuers offering interest-bearing products, a provision preserved from the 2025 GENIUS Act.
To prevent criminal exploitation of the digital ecosystem, the framework mandates that all digital asset intermediaries, including those abroad serving U.S. customers, register with FinCEN and comply with anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations. DeFi protocols will also be scrutinized for compliance vulnerabilities.
Finally, the proposal highlights the need for bipartisan regulatory leadership. It would require the SEC and CFTC to maintain cross-party commissioner quorums for rulemaking and enable rapid hiring of staff with digital assets expertise. According to the authors: “This framework represents a turning point. It restores trust, prevents abuse, and ensures that America—not its adversaries—leads the next generation of financial innovation.”
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is calling for legislation to ban prediction markets that allow traders to bet…
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has proposed a new rule that would allow cryptocy brokers to deliver…
Global fintech powerhouse Revolut has filed an application for a U.S. banking license, a move that would allow…
A man accused of stealing tens of millions of dollars in cryptocy from U.S. government…
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) — the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange — has taken a strategic…
A new study from the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) found that leading artificial intelligence models overwhelmingly favor Bitcoin…