The U.S. Congress has a very detailed division of regulatory authority over cryptocurrencies. To understand the regulatory logic, you first need to know how the major Senate committees are divided in their responsibilities.

**Banking Committee vs. Agriculture Committee**

The Senate Banking Committee oversees the SEC, while the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee oversees the CFTC. Recently, the bipartisan CLARITY Act was drafted by the Banking Committee, but the Agriculture Committee also has its own version in progress. Although these two bodies operate separately, ultimately both will influence the crypto market.

**Why does the Agriculture Committee oversee the CFTC?**

This goes back to history. The CFTC was established in 1974, but its predecessor, the Commodity Exchange Act, has existed since 1936, originally to protect farmers. Prices for agricultural products like wheat and corn were highly volatile, and farmers often suffered losses, so Congress set up this regulatory system. Over time, as markets developed, the CFTC’s scope expanded to include energy, metals, and financial commodities, but its roots remain agricultural, so the Agriculture Committee continues to oversee it.

**How is cryptocurrency positioned within this framework?**

The key difference is this: assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum are classified by the CFTC as “commodities” (commodities), not securities. This is because the CFTC originally regulated the commodity futures markets and has now extended its oversight to spot trading of digital commodities. Conversely, the SEC mainly focuses on securities-type crypto assets.

So, you’ll see that the draft from the Agriculture Committee emphasizes CFTC’s commodity regulation, while the Banking Committee takes a different stance on securities classification. That’s why the same crypto asset might be of interest to both committees—the division of responsibilities is designed this way.