On 21 January, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman released the updated text of a bill crucial to the structure of the cryptocurrency market, setting a vote in committee (markup) for 27 January.
The bill, titled 'Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act', aims to provide the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) with a defined regulatory framework to oversee the spot market when activity transits through brokers, dealers, exchanges and custodians.
The Committee's main objective is to formalise an institutional response to operational failures that affect small investors: account blockages, delayed withdrawals, platform outages during periods of high volatility, and disputes over the handling of liquidations.
A new "voice" for retail investors
One of the most notable new features of the bill is the establishment, within Section 211, of the "Office of the Defender of Retail Users of Digital Commodities".
This office will operate under the direct supervision of the chairman of the CFTC and will be tasked with monitoring recurring problems encountered by users, turning them into input for new rules.
The retail advocate will have the mandate to analyse how proposed regulations affect participants and to recommend changes to Congress. The goal is not to magically eliminate every technical glitch, but to create an internal unit dedicated to identifying patterns of harm and forcing that evidence into the legislative process. The office will be required to submit semi-annual reports to Congress: a report on objectives by 30 June and one on activities by 31 December.
Resources and personnel: the challenge of operational capacity
To address doubts about the CFTC's ability to handle this new workload, Boozman's proposal introduces a fee-based funding model. The Commission will collect fees from brokers, dealers and registered custodians to cover supervision costs.
While waiting for this mechanism to become fully operational, the bill authorises an initial appropriation of $150 million. In addition, authority is granted to the CFTC chairman to hire experts with 'specialised knowledge' in the crypto sector, bypassing the normal competitive constraints of the civil service to quickly build a team capable of following a market that evolves in days, not years.
The dividing line for DeFi
The text also addresses the complex world of decentralised finance (DeFi), drawing boundaries based on operational definitions. A distinction is introduced between a 'messaging system DeFi', which merely transmits instructions, and systems in which an individual or group maintains effective control over funds or execution.
A protocol remains outside the jurisdiction if it operates solely on transparent and automated code. However, it is within regulatory reach if a group has unilateral authority to censor access, materially alter rules, or control users' funds.
This approach shifts the debate from marketing labels to operational facts, such as key ownership or governance concentration.
