Major U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges have called for the removal of token listing restrictions from the CLARITY Act, a proposed bill in the U.S. Senate aimed at restructuring the digital asset market. Industry insiders are concerned that applying existing futures market regulations to the spot cryptocurrency market could effectively block the listing of new projects.
On Tuesday, according to CrowdFund Insider, leading exchanges including Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini submitted amendments to the Senate, requesting the deletion of specific provisions in the CLARITY Act.
The exchanges took issue with a clause stating that only digital assets resistant to market manipulation could be listed. This criterion is rooted in regulations the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has long applied to oil and agricultural futures markets.
Industry experts argue that this standard is incompatible with the unique nature of the spot cryptocurrency market. They contend that new tokens, which typically lack substantial trading volume and liquidity, may struggle to prove market stability, effectively barring them from being listed.
Robin Cook, Coinbase’s Head of Federal Policy, warned that imposing existing futures market regulations on the spot cryptocurrency market could hamper innovation and limit consumer access to emerging projects.
Cook also expressed concern that the provision might grant regulators excessive discretionary power.
The CLARITY Act aims to delineate regulatory authority based on cryptocurrency types, establishing a clear supervisory framework between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The proposed legislation categorizes cryptocurrencies into three groups: Digital Commodities, Investment Contract Assets, and Payment Stablecoins. Under this framework, the CFTC would oversee digital commodities, while the SEC would regulate assets that more closely resemble investment contracts.