U.S. Senate advances draft bill on crypto market structure…includes developer protections and bankruptcy provisions

Suehyeon Lee

Summary

The U.S. Senate's privately distributed crypto market structure draft bill reportedly includes developer protections and digital asset issuers' bankruptcy guidelines.
Staking and airdrops would not be subject to securities laws, and DePIN would also be exempt from securities law application.
The bill reportedly mainly includes protecting entities that develop and operate blockchain networks and DeFi messaging systems, and amending existing bankruptcy law to classify customer assets in bankruptcy.

The U.S. Senate has taken a step forward on a key bill aimed at establishing a regulatory framework for the crypto market.

According to CoinDesk on the 6th (local time), the U.S. Senate privately distributed a new draft bill on the crypto market structure to industry stakeholders, which includes developer protections and bankruptcy guidelines for digital asset issuers.

Earlier, the House passed the 'Clarity Act (Digital Asset Market Clarity Act)', providing a starting point for establishing a crypto market structure, but the Senate is preparing its own, more detailed and extensive version.

According to the Senate bill, staking and airdrops would not be subject to securities laws, and application of securities laws to Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) would be exempt. It also includes provisions to legally protect entities that develop, deploy, or operate blockchain networks or decentralized finance (DeFi) messaging systems. In addition, it includes revisions to existing bankruptcy law to classify 'ancillary assets' and digital goods as customer property in bankruptcy proceedings.