#CryptoClarityAct Yesterday, the Senate Banking Committee published a draft for discussion of its infrastructure bill for the cryptocurrency market, the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFI Act). It is very different from the House's CLARITY Act, as it assigns important responsibilities to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and not to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Most cryptocurrencies will fall under the jurisdiction of the SEC, although they are exempt from many aspects of securities laws. The Agriculture Committee has not yet proposed its bill related to the CFTC, but based on the Banking Committee's draft, it is more likely to refer to typical derivatives activities.

There is significant logic in assigning jurisdiction to the SEC. The agency is about six times larger than the CFTC and is more accustomed to dealing with consumer investors. Moreover, the Senate's approach is clearer, making the SEC the regulator of both conventional securities and these almost crypto-assets that it refers to as "ancillary assets." In recent months, the SEC's Cryptocurrency Task Force, led by Commissioner Hester Peirce, has made significant progress, while all sitting commissioners of the CFTC have resigned from the agency.