Democratic lawmakers propose ethics-centered modifications to cryptocurrency regulatory framework legislation
These proposed modifications represent the most recent effort by Democratic Party members to block government officials from generating profits through cryptocurrency ventures.
Democratic Senators in the United States who are engaged in crafting cryptocurrency market structure legislation submitted multiple amendments this past Friday, featuring provisions designed to tackle conflicts of interest involving government officials who stand to gain financially from the cryptocurrency sector.
These amendments centered on ethics were submitted in advance of Tuesday's Senate Agriculture Committee markup session for the cryptocurrency market structure bill, a piece of legislation designed to provide enhanced clarity regarding federal regulations for digital assets, establish agency oversight boundaries, and deliver regulatory certainty to both investors and those participating in the market.
Among the most significant amendments was one from Senator Michael Bennet, which reportedly incorporates the Digital Asset Ethics Act within the crypto market structure bill as a means to prohibit government officials in the United States from generating profits through the cryptocurrency sector.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, along with her fellow Democratic colleagues, have been voicing concerns regarding President Donald Trump's purported conflicts of interest involving the cryptocurrency industry, specifically pointing to his participation in the World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency platform, an involvement that has boosted his net worth by several hundred million dollars.
CFTC should fill vacant seats before bill takes effect
A separate amendment introduced by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar aims to postpone the bill's enactment until such time as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission achieves its complete roster of commissioners.
At present, the CFTC operates under the sole leadership of Chair Michael Selig, who took his oath of office on Dec. 22. No definitive timeline has been established regarding when the four remaining commissioner positions are anticipated to be occupied.
Additional amendments were put forward by Senators Roger Marshall, Dick Durbin, and Peter Welch to incorporate the Credit Card Competition Act, legislation that aims to forbid "credit card networks and certain card-issuing financial institutions from requiring network exclusivity on credit cards."
Tuesday's scheduled Senate markup session follows a previous postponement on Jan. 15 that resulted from disagreements concerning stablecoin rewards limitations and additional decentralized finance-related provisions, disputes that prompted prominent industry participant Coinbase to retract its support.
Snowstorm could postpone Senate markup again
Concerns have emerged that the markup scheduled for Tuesday may face another delay, as meteorological forecasts indicate an approaching snowstorm expected to impact Washington DC throughout the weekend.
