While the dust settles from the recent government shutdown, senators are rolling up their sleeves to tackle one of Washington’s most tangled regulatory puzzles: who should oversee cryptocurrency. Two Senate committees are pushing competing visions that could reshape how digital assets are regulated in America. Institutional investors often rely on specialized institutional trading platforms to execute large-scale trades efficiently and compliantly.
The Senate Agriculture Committee wants to hand more power to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Their draft plan would let the CFTC oversee “digital commodities” and spot markets. Think of it like giving the CFTC keys to regulate Bitcoin trading the same way they handle corn or oil futures. Crypto exchanges and brokers would need to register with the CFTC and follow strict rules about keeping customer money safe and separate.
Meanwhile, the Senate Banking Committee prefers keeping the Securities and Exchange Commission in charge. Their approach, called the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, gives the SEC authority over “ancillary assets.” The interesting twist is that tokens could “graduate” from being treated as securities once their governance becomes more decentralized. It’s like a cryptocurrency earning its independence as it matures.
This battle has been brewing for years. The SEC has been the tough cop on the beat, using old rules to argue that most token sales are investment contracts. They’ve filed dozens of enforcement actions against crypto companies, creating what many call a legal gray zone. Market participants complain this approach lacks clarity and makes it hard to innovate.
The House already passed its own solution in July with the CLARITY Act, which tries to divide authority cleanly between the two agencies. The CFTC would get exclusive anti-fraud powers over digital commodities, while the SEC keeps its traditional role with securities. The Senate draft emphasizes modernizing securities law and protecting self-custody rights for digital asset holders.
Adding urgency to this debate is Mike Selig’s upcoming CFTC nomination hearing on November 19, 2025. The White House has also weighed in, releasing a digital asset policy report in July that emphasized clear market rules and federal coordination. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has rebounded above $102,000 following post-shutdown momentum that has boosted ETF approvals and overall market optimism.
As federal agencies restart operations, expect this regulatory tug-of-war to intensify. The stakes are high for an industry seeking the kind of clear rules that help businesses thrive.
