Bitcoin remains at US$ 89,000 as crypto market structure bill advances in the US

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Bitcoin Today: BTC Remains at US$ 89,000 as Crypto Legislation Advances in the US Original Link: The chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, John Boozman, released an updated version of the cryptocurrency market structure bill on Wednesday (21) and stated that it is time to bring the text for review next Tuesday (27).

Despite the positive news, Bitcoin’s price did not react. The leading cryptocurrency continues to trade around US$ 89,848; in reais, BTC is quoted at R$ 478,926.

Although “differences remain on fundamental policy issues,” the committee draft includes “stakeholder contributions and represents months of work,” Boozman said in a statement.

It is worth noting that the new text does not have bipartisan support, after stalled negotiations and an uneven dynamic, as lawmakers’ attention has shifted to bills supporting President Donald Trump on housing accessibility.

Last week, Boozman stated that bipartisan talks had advanced but still required more time to resolve pending issues.

The decision by the Senate Agriculture Committee to move forward without Democratic approval occurs while the Senate Banking Committee — which holds the keys to the broader financial system — delays its own work on the crypto market structure, a divergence of positions between the committees that adds uncertainty to the proposal’s progress.

“While it is unfortunate that we haven’t reached an agreement, I am grateful for the collaboration that made this legislation better,” Boozman said about the committee’s decision. “It is time to move forward with this bill, and I look forward to the review next week.”

Taking the necessary time

The latest draft from the Senate Agriculture Committee “indicates that the desire to pass bipartisan legislation on market structure this year remains strong,” said Cody Carbone, CEO of the Digital Chamber industry association.

“The momentum hasn’t changed,” Carbone said.

Patrick Witt, executive director of the Presidential Advisors Council on Digital Assets, urged lawmakers on Tuesday to advance the market structure legislation, stating that “it’s a matter of when, not if.”

Former President Donald Trump, in turn, has openly supported the progress, acknowledging at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday that Congress is “working hard to pass legislation on crypto market structure.”

Trump said he expects to sign the bill “very soon,” as it would help open “new pathways to achieve financial freedom.” The president added that this applies to “Bitcoin, all of them.”

What is under discussion?

The new text from the Senate Agriculture Committee is called the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act and is based on previous bipartisan versions of crypto market structure bills discussed in the Senate.

Although these efforts are often grouped under the label “market structure,” they operate at different regulatory layers and have gone through different committees.

The Agriculture Committee’s proposal focuses on regulating digital commodity intermediaries under the supervision of the CFTC, establishing registration and compliance rules for trading platforms and related services.

Meanwhile, the CLARITY Act, supported by the House of Representatives, seeks to address broader issues regarding asset classification and regulatory jurisdiction between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the CFTC across the entire cryptocurrency market.

Debates about expanding the CFTC’s role in supervising crypto markets are happening at a time when the agency faces staffing and resource limitations, with its internal oversight body pointing to digital assets supervision as a risk given its already limited capacity.

Observers have also questioned practical aspects regarding the CFTC’s capabilities.

“The CFTC was not created to oversee on-chain markets using enforcement tools designed for the traditional financial system and intermediated,” said Seth Hallem, CEO of crypto security firm Certora.

Prediction markets and on-chain financial markets are “autonomous software systems with risks that develop in real time,” Hallem said, arguing that traditional tools like disclosures and compliance audits become irrelevant due to this nature.

What might work, according to him, is “a combination of clear market rules, cryptographic methods to ensure compliance, and mathematical proofs that systems do what they promise.”