Introduction
Crypto regulation just got a presidential nudge. Donald Trump has confirmed that a full crypto market structure bill is close to passing, and if you’ve been watching the SEC and CFTC bicker over digital assets for the past few years, you’ll know why that’s a big deal.
The bill would formally split oversight between the two regulators, give exchanges a fast-track path to registration, and potentially unlock assets that have been sitting under legal cloud cover. So, what’s actually in it — and what happens next?
The Ongoing Turf War
The SEC and CFTC have spent years arguing over who owns what in crypto. The SEC treats most tokens as securities. The CFTC says many are commodities. The result? A compliance grey zone that’s left exchanges, brokers, and DeFi platforms in a permanent state of legal limbo.
The House moved to fix this last July when it passed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, drawing a clear line between securities (SEC) and digital commodities (CFTC). The Senate, though, has been the bottleneck.
In late January, the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its own version — the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act — but only just, with a narrow 12–11 vote. That scoreline tells you everything about how divided the room still is.
What the Bill Actually Does
Here’s the short version of what’s on the table:
CFTC takes the wheel on commodities. Bitcoin and Ethereum would fall under CFTC oversight — ending years of ambiguity around their classification and clearing a major roadblock for institutional players.
Exchanges get 180 days to register. Once the bill passes, brokers and trading platforms would have a 180-day window to apply for provisional status. That’s a considerably faster path than the current situation, where many firms are essentially operating on vibes and hoping for the best.
Joint rulemaking within 18 months. The SEC and CFTC would need to collaborate on rules covering mixed transactions and margin structures — the messy stuff that doesn’t fit neatly into either box.
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig has suggested the bill could reach the President within months, which aligns with broader efforts to bring crypto further into the mainstream financial system.
The Market Angle: What Could Move
If this passes, expect a reprice. Assets currently weighed down by active SEC lawsuits — or the threat of one — could see renewed interest as their regulatory status becomes clearer under a commodity classification.
That said, there are still a few hurdles to clear:
The Senate Banking Committee needs to reconcile its version with the Agriculture Committee’s draft and that process has already hit turbulence. In January 2026, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew support for the Senate Banking Committee’s draft just hours before a planned markup, citing a proposed ban on stablecoin yield and concerns it would weaken the CFTC’s role in favour of the SEC. Armstrong’s verdict: “We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill.” That single move stalled the Banking Committee’s vote and opened up a fresh fault line between the crypto industry and bank lobbyists — who want stablecoin yield banned outright to protect deposits. White House crypto advisers have since pushed back hard, with one official warning Armstrong publicly that a future Democratic version of the bill would be far worse. Talks are continuing, but no new markup date has been set.
There’s also a 28 February White House deadline tied to stablecoin frameworks, adding urgency to the timeline.
And politics being what it is, scrutiny of Trump-linked crypto ventures like WLFI hasn’t gone away. Congressional leaders are still pushing for probes — a reminder that even with clearer rules arriving, political noise isn’t going anywhere.
The Bottom Line
A crypto market structure bill has been years in the making, and Trump’s confirmation that it’s close brings genuine momentum. A clear SEC–CFTC split, a 180-day registration window, and an end to the compliance grey zone would mark a real shift for the industry.
Whether it crosses the finish line before political and legislative friction slows it down again is the question. Keep an eye on the Senate reconciliation process and the February stablecoin deadline — those are the near-term signals to watch.
Want to stay ahead of the regulatory curve? Bookmark this space.
FAQ
Q1: What is the crypto market structure bill Trump is referring to?
A: It refers to legislation — including the House-passed Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and the Senate’s Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act — that would formally split crypto oversight between the SEC and CFTC. Trump has indicated that a final version is close to passing.
Q2: What’s the difference between the SEC and CFTC in crypto regulation?
A: The SEC oversees securities, while the CFTC regulates commodity markets. The bill would designate assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum as digital commodities under CFTC jurisdiction, ending years of overlapping claims and legal uncertainty.
Q3: How does the 180-day registration window work?
A: Once the bill becomes law, exchanges and brokers would have 180 days to register and obtain provisional status with the relevant regulator. This offers a defined path to compliance rather than the current grey-zone approach many platforms rely on.
Q4: What’s the February 28 deadline about?
A: The White House has set a 28 February deadline for stablecoin regulatory frameworks. The Senate needs to reconcile competing versions of the market structure bill before that date to maintain legislative momentum.
Q5: Will this bill affect DeFi platforms?
A: Yes, potentially. The Senate Banking Committee’s January 2026 draft proposed expanded compliance requirements for DeFi interfaces, including AML and sanctions screening — a move critics say could effectively turn permissionless DeFi into regulated, centralised finance. This was one of several issues, alongside a proposed stablecoin yield ban, that led Coinbase to withdraw its support for that draft. The joint SEC–CFTC rulemaking mandated within 18 months is intended to work through exactly these sticking points.
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Effective Date: 15th July 2025
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