Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said that legislation on stablecoins is the portion of their framework for crypto regulation that is most likely to progress this year, Markets Media reported. Last month, they introduced the Responsible Financial Innovation Act to create a complete regulatory framework for digital assets. It assigns regulatory authority over digital asset spot markets to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The senators said, “Understanding that most digital assets are much more similar to commodities than securities, the bill gives the CFTC clear authority over applicable digital asset spot markets, which aligns well with their current purview over other commodity markets. Digital assets that meet the definition of a commodity, such as bitcoin and ether, which comprise more than half of digital asset market capitalization, will be regulated by the CFTC.” Sen. Gillibrand said that it is possible that the Senate Agriculture Committee could vote by the end of this year on the jurisdiction of the CFTC over specific digital assets that are considered commodities. Sen. Lummis added that the Senate Banking Committee could vote on how banks could issue stablecoins. In addition, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) has a bill that would address how non-banks could issue stablecoins, which could also go through the Senate Banking Committee this year.
