A CFTC poderia supervisionar a maior parte das criptomoedas dos EUA sob a Lei da Clareza

A Lei de Clareza do Mercado de Ativos Digitais pode conceder à CFTC a expansão mais significativa de autoridade regulatória na história da agência. Sob o projeto de lei, a CFTC obteria jurisdição exclusiva sobre transações no mercado à vista de commodities digitais. Inclui Bitcoin e Ethereum, ao mesmo tempo que fecha uma lacuna regulatória. Isso deixou grandes partes do mercado de criptomoedas dos EUA operando sem uma supervisão federal clara.

Mas uma investigação do New York Times levantou questões desconfortáveis sobre se a agência está realmente preparada para essa responsabilidade. As notícias sobre a Lei de Clareza hoje trazem duas histórias que correm simultaneamente. É uma estrutura regulatória pioneira avançando pelo Senado, e uma controvérsia sobre o regulador que a irá aplicar.

What the Clarity Act Actually Does

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act draws a clear jurisdictional line. Digital commodities tokens on sufficiently decentralized networks that fall under CFTC authority for spot market activity. The SEC retains oversight of investment contracts and primary offerings. Stablecoins operate under a separate framework established by the GENIUS Act.

The practical scope of that CFTC expansion is substantial:

• New registration requirements for exchanges, brokers, and dealers in digital commodity spot markets
• Anti-fraud and anti-manipulation authority over digital commodity transactions
• Core principles framework governing exchange operations, customer protections, and financial integrity
• Joint rulemaking with the SEC within 360 days of enactment on overlapping jurisdictions
• Provisional registration pathway allowing existing platforms to operate while full compliance standards are established

Senator Cynthia Lummis put the stakes plainly. “The digital asset industry operating in America without a real rulebook isn’t a free market; it’s a liability. America needs the Clarity Act now to ensure America writes the rules.”

Senator Tim Scott added that countries like Dubai and Singapore have operated with clear crypto guidelines for years. For the world’s largest economy, that clarity could mean global crypto dominance.

The NYT Investigation – A Readiness Problem

Here is where the Clarity Act Polymarket controversy intersects with the regulatory expansion debate. A New York Times investigation reported that CFTC career officials were sidelined. After raising concerns about plans tied to Polymarket, Crypto.com, and Gemini Titan, all companies with business ties to the Trump family.

According to the report, then-acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham and senior legal adviser Brigitte Weyls intervened to help the three companies secure approvals or avoid scrutiny. Both later joined MoonPay and Gemini Titan, respectively. Officials had flagged concerns that Crypto.com was not treating small bettors fairly, that Polymarket lacked adequate fraud protections. Meanwhile, Gemini Titan had not completed required reviews.

The enforcement record adds context. Under the Trump administration, the CFTC dropped at least five crypto investigations. They brought just two cases involving digital assets, both targeting individual operators. The Biden administration brought more than 80 such cases.

Weighing the Implications

For investors, CFTC jurisdiction over spot markets offers meaningful protections. It is mandatory registration, financial integrity requirements, and anti-manipulation oversight that currently does not exist for most crypto spot trading. That regulatory floor could unlock institutional capital that has been waiting for legal certainty before entering U.S. digital asset markets.

For developers, the bill’s provisional registration pathway reduces the immediate compliance burden while permanent standards are established. DeFi protocols face continued ambiguity, however, the bill’s application to decentralized trading protocols. That remains one of the most actively contested provisions as the Senate reconciliation process continues.

The readiness question is real. Handing the CFTC sweeping new authority over a multi-trillion-dollar market requires the agency to function with independence, adequate staffing, and institutional credibility. The NYT reporting creates legitimate questions about all three. Questions that will not disappear simply because the bill passes.

O que vem a seguir

A Lei de Clareza ainda precisa passar pelo plenário completo do Senado, onde são necessários 60 votos para superar um obstrução. O texto do Comitê de Bancos deve ser mesclado com a parte relacionada à CFTC do Comitê de Agricultura do Senado antes que uma votação no plenário possa ocorrer. Esse processo agora compete pelo tempo no plenário do Senado contra reconciliação, FISA e legislação habitacional. Com apenas sete semanas de trabalho antes do recesso de agosto.

Para quem acompanha as notícias sobre regulamentação de criptomoedas, duas coisas valem a pena serem observadas simultaneamente. Se o projeto de lei passa pelo plenário do Senado a tempo, e se a controvérsia em torno da independência da CFTC molda a forma como os democratas abordam seu cálculo de 60 votos.