Why US Crypto Regulation Is Back in the Spotlight in 2026

In 2026, the big question in the US isn’t “Will crypto be banned?” It’s who regulates it, and under which rulebook. That’s why the fight over where a “security” ends and a “digital commodity” begins has dragged on for years.

Congress is trying to shrink that gray zone through a crypto market structure bill (a comprehensive “rules of the road” proposal for how the crypto market should be supervised).

On the Senate side, the topic has visibly accelerated: Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott has announced a markup of a broad market structure package.

SEC vs CFTC for Crypto: What’s the Difference?

The simplified framework looks like this:

SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) views crypto through the lens of securities. If a token is sold as an investment with an expectation of profit, the SEC is more likely to treat it as an investment contract and apply securities-market requirements.

CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) historically regulates commodities and derivatives. In crypto debates, the CFTC is often positioned as the regulator for digital commodities and the market rules around trading, margin, and clearing.

In practice, the dispute boils down to one question: is the token a security or a commodity (digital commodity vs security)—and therefore which registration regime applies to the platform listing it.

What Is a Crypto Market Structure Bill

A market structure bill is an attempt to package, in one framework:

a clearer split of SEC vs CFTC authority,
definitions for when a token is a security vs a digital commodity,
rules for market infrastructure: exchanges, brokers/dealers, custodians, clearing,
a “map” for the industry: what disclosures projects must provide and what registrations platforms need.

The goal is to move from regulation-by-guesswork to formal criteria—what lawmakers often call clear rules of the road.

US Crypto Market Structure: What’s Happened Already

In 2025, the US House voted on a package aimed at clarifying oversight and the commodity-vs-security split (public summaries described it as expanding clarity around the CFTC’s role and token classification).

Meanwhile, the Senate Banking Committee worked through principles (June 2025), then discussion drafts (summer/fall 2025), and by January 2026 the process moved into markup territory.

Digital Commodity vs Security: How the Bill Tries to Draw the Line

In most market structure proposals, you’ll see a “bridge” idea: a token might start its life under a securities-like framing, but as a network becomes more decentralized and less dependent on a single controlling group, there should be a path to treating it more like a digital commodity.

Translated into plain English:

early-stage projects often struggle to escape the SEC lens if there’s a clear “issuer,” yield-style marketing, and centralized control;
later-stage networks want a clearer path where a more “commodity-like” token can trade under a framework closer to CFTC-style market oversight (especially relevant to spot and derivatives).

Where the Howey Test fits in (and why people hate it)

In public discourse, the Howey test is shorthand for: the SEC can treat a token as a security if people expect profit from the efforts of others. The frustration is less about the test itself and more about the fact it was built for a different era.

Applying it to modern token systems can be ambiguous, making it hard for businesses to plan listings, marketing, and distribution when the outcome can hinge on interpretation.

What Could Change for Exchanges and Platforms

If market structure legislation becomes law, the biggest shift for infrastructure is likely clearer registration lanes:

platforms listing security-like tokens → closer to the SEC stack,
platforms listing digital commodities → closer to a CFTC/commodities-style regime,
plus standards around disclosures, conflicts of interest, custody practices, and compliance.

For users, this usually shows up as more standardized listing rules, KYC/AML expectations, and reporting—less "every exchange does it differently".

SEC vs CFTC in 2026: What Should Investors Watch?

In 2026, the practical investor play isn’t trying to predict every bill’s final outcome. It’s tracking the institutional signals:

the bill’s stage (principles → draft → markup → votes),
public statements from committees and regulators,
shifts in enforcement and oversight priorities (including how the SEC frames crypto under changing agendas).

Bottom line

US crypto regulation in 2026 is a “market growing up” story: lawmakers want clearer rules, and the SEC vs CFTC fight is being pushed toward a more formal split via a market structure bill. Practically, focus on three things: the token’s likely status (security vs digital commodity), the trading venue’s regulatory posture, and how transparent the platform is on compliance and reporting. The fewer surprises the rulebook creates, the smaller the “regulatory premium” baked into risk.

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