The latest release of the 'Market Structure Discussion Draft' by the United States House of Representatives defines 'digital goods' and exempts them from securities attributes, representing a significant breakthrough in the history of cryptocurrency regulation.
The draft clarifies: trading digital goods in the secondary market does not constitute securities trading, provided that the purchaser does not obtain ownership rights from the issuer. This provision addresses the long-standing 'Howey Test' controversy that has troubled the market, significantly reducing compliance costs for exchanges and investors. After the regulatory clarification, the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs accelerated, and traditional asset management institutions could compliantly allocate digital goods, enhancing liquidity in the secondary market. Following the announcement of the draft, Bitcoin's trading volume surged by 18% within 24 hours, Ethereum increased by 14%, and the number of addresses holding over 1 BTC rose by 9%. This indicates positive investor expectations for 'de-securitization,' especially as AI tokens benefit from technological neutrality, with trading volumes rising by 22% concurrently. The bill sets a standard for determining 'no single controller' in DeFi and establishes reserve and issuer qualification requirements for stablecoins. This provides a scalable operational framework for decentralized protocols and compliant stablecoins, attracting more traditional financial institutions to participate in on-chain liquidity pool construction.
This draft provides phased clarity for the cryptocurrency market, particularly regarding secondary market trading compliance and the positioning of mainstream tokens. More tokens are expected to escape securities disputes, but must meet decentralization and functional practicality standards. However, complex asset and regulatory coordination issues remain ongoing challenges. In the long term, compliance will accelerate industry consolidation, pushing cryptocurrency from 'marginal innovation' to 'mainstream financial infrastructure.'
