A group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives has introduced for consideration the Digital Commodity Exchange Act (DCEA) of 2022, establishing direct oversight over certain types of crypto transactions and Bitcoin exchanges under the aegis of the CFTC.
Today, @HouseAgGOP Leader @CongressmanGT is joined by @RepRoKhanna, @RepTomEmmer, & @RepDarrenSoto in introducing the bipartisan Digital Commodity Exchange Act, or #DCEA – a framework for regulatory certainty in digital commodity markets.
Full release 👇https://t.co/CzfbMyJoBl pic.twitter.com/MBZep9ZysE
— House Ag GOP (@HouseAgGOP) April 28, 2022
Document was presented by Republicans Glenn Thompson and Tom Emmer, as well as Ro Khanna and Darren Soto of the Democratic Party.
The law introduces the term “digital commodity.” Regulatory questions concerning issuers of such assets and their trading would fall under the jurisdiction of the CFTC. SEC will continue to oversee tokens with securities-like properties.
“Under “digital commodity” is understood any form of interchangeable intangible personal property that can be owned exclusively and transferred from person to person without the need to rely on a middleman”, the document explains.
The definition does not include references to stocks, debt instruments and securities in general, which will avoid overlap with the SEC’s remit.
Digital commodities may be sold only on a CFTC-registered exchange. The platform must comply with certain requirements, including custody and protection of assets by qualified custodians, and preventing the commingling of client and corporate funds.
DCEA was introduced for consideration by Republican Michael Conaway back in 2020. In November 2021 a group of congressmen led by Thompson introduced the current updated version of the bill.
“Closing gaps in the spot market is an important part of the regulatory puzzle,” Thompson said.
Earlier, Rostin Benham, then a candidate to head the CFTC, proposed granting the agency the status of the main federal regulator for the cryptocurrency market.
On March 9, President Joe Biden signed an executive order coordinating federal agencies in regulating digital assets.
At the end of March, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand revealed details of the bill, aimed at providing clarity in regulating cryptocurrencies. Among other things the document clarifies the definition of broker in infrastructural terms and provides for the creation of a dedicated supervisory agency.
Earlier Coinbase CEO predicted a split of oversight of the crypto industry between agencies.
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