- Investors For Transparency is running prime-time Fox News ads urging opposition to DeFi provisions in a pending crypto market structure bill.
- Ads ask viewers to contact senators and push for passage of the bill without DeFi-related language, according to Eleanor Terrett.
- Senators are preparing for a markup on the legislation on January 15, per an announcement by Tim Scott.
- Critics warn DeFi language may let noncustodial services avoid oversight and shift regulatory uncertainty to future SEC guidance, says former enforcement attorney Brandon Perry.
- The bill builds on the CLARITY Act, which would split oversight between the SEC and the CFTC, while the House has already advanced a related market structure measure, according to reports.
A new advocacy group, Investors For Transparency, began running prime-time Fox News commercials this week urging voters to oppose DeFi-related language in a pending crypto market structure bill. Eleanor Terrett reported the ads started about one week before senators are expected to vote in committee, and the ads ask viewers to contact their senators to support passage of the bill without DeFi provisions.
Senate staff expect the Senate Banking Committee to hold a markup on January 15, an action Tim Scott publicly announced. The committee’s GOP posted that more clarity on how DeFi appears in the bill will come when the Senate Banking Committee releases its portion, as shown by the committee’s GOP post.
Critics say the market structure bill could allow many DeFi services to sidestep federal oversight and weaken customer protections. Brandon Perry, a former federal enforcement attorney, told industry outlets that the legislation may not resolve uncertainty. “[It is] helpful in some ways, but does not eliminate the regulatory ambiguity so much as relocate it. By leaving concepts like ‘entrepreneurial or managerial efforts’ to future SEC guidance and rulemaking, the bill risks recreating the same uncertainty through interpretive guidance that the industry has seen through regulation by enforcement.”
The proposal draws from the CLARITY Act, which would create a federal framework for digital assets and divide authority between the SEC and the CFTC. The effort is being watched closely by DeFi participants as lawmakers prepare parallel action in the House after that chamber advanced a market structure bill, according to reports.
Bitcoin traded near $90,361 as debate continued and retail sentiment tracked on social platforms showed a modest drop in bullishness.
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