US CFTC Leadership to be Addressed at Market Structure Bill Markup

US lawmakers are expected to return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday after inclement weather delayed committee meetings and votes, with attention turning to how senators will handle proposed amendments to a long-awaited crypto market structure bill.

On Thursday, senators on the Senate Agriculture Committee are scheduled to meet for a markup on the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act (DCIA), a bill to establish a digital asset market structure framework.

The markup is one of the first attempts by the chamber to advance market structure legislation amid the Senate Banking Committee postponing its markup after Coinbase pulled its support for the bill.

Among the 11 DCIA amendments publicly available at the time of publication were proposals for banning lawmakers and White House officials from engaging with the crypto industry, forcing companies to compete on credit card swipe fees and addressing foreign interference in US markets.

Another amendment would prevent the law to be implemented until the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had at least four commissioners in its leadership.

The CFTC amendment, proposed by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, was in response to a dearth of commissioners at the federal financial regulator following the resignation of acting chair Caroline Pham and other members in 2025.

Klobuchar proposed that the market structure bill, if signed into law, not take effect “until at least four commissioners” at the CFTC were confirmed by the Senate. 

Related: US crypto market structure bill delayed by winter storm

The agency is expected to have five commissioners, one of which acts as chair. Only Chair Michael Selig, a Republican picked by US President Donald Trump, remains after Pham’s departure in December. 

Pushback from lawmakers and lobbying groups

Under the most recent draft of the DCIA released on Jan. 21, the bill would establish clear roles for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and CFTC over digital asset regulation. However, some lawmakers and industry leaders have pushed back against draft versions of the bill in the banking and agriculture committee for provisions on stablecoin rewards, tokenized equities, decentralized finance and ethics.

It’s unclear which amendments in the Agriculture Committee will pass markup on Thursday, or how lawmakers may consolidate the bill with the Banking Committee, which has yet to reschedule its Jan. 15 markup.