The House approved a major win for the cryptocurrency industry Wednesday, voting by a large bipartisan margin to establish the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — rather than the Securities and Exchange Commission, seen as a stricter financial regulator — as the primary overseer for digital assets.
Crypto leaders have long preferred having the CFTC instead of the SEC as the industry’s top regulator. Under the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which passed by a 279-136 vote, the CFTC would regulate digital assets on a decentralized blockchain, a definition that would cover the vast majority of crypto currencies and exchanges.