Senate Ag Committee hearing calls for CFTC authority, clearer rules to protect retail crypto investors

The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee held a hearing on oversight of digital commodities in which senators and witnesses pressed Congress to close what lawmakers described as a regulatory gap that leaves millions of retail investors exposed and encourages overseas migration of U.S. crypto firms.

"The CFTC and only the CFTC should regulate the spot trading of digital commodities," Chairman Boseman said in opening remarks, calling for a legislative framework that preserves the existing division of securities and commodities oversight.

Why it matters: Committee members and witnesses repeatedly cited large-scale retail participation and market size as the reason for urgency. Witnesses and senators gave multiple estimates during the hearing: the digital asset market cap was described at more than $3.5 trillion; speakers said roughly 55 million to 65 million Americans own digital assets; and committee members pointed to rising theft and fraud figures and high-profile failures such as FTX to illustrate consumer risk.

Industry witnesses and former regulators framed a core legislative choice: give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) explicit, exclusive authority over spot trading of digital commodities, and pair that authority with funding, self‑regulatory organization (SRO) roles, and rulemaking that adopts time‑tested customer protections. G. Kim, identified in testimony as…