The United States Senate has updated its proposed crypto market structure legislation with an important clarification: tokenized stocks and other securities will remain classified as securities, even when issued on a blockchain. The move aims to eliminate confusion about whether tokenized equities could fall under commodities rules, instead ensuring that they continue to fit within existing securities frameworks.
The clarification matters for digital asset firms experimenting with tokenization, as it preserves compatibility with broker-dealer frameworks, clearing systems, and regulated trading platforms. Stocks are already tightly regulated as securities, and the clause ensures that their tokenized versions remain under the same umbrella.
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“We want this on the president’s desk before the end of the year,” Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the lead sponsors of the bill, told CNBC.
Crypto bill splits oversight between SEC and CFTC
The Senate’s proposed legislation, called the Responsible Financial Innovation Act of 2025, seeks to define clearer regulatory boundaries for digital assets. The bill outlines which assets fall under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s jurisdiction versus those regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
According to Senator Lummis, the Senate Banking Committee is expected to vote on the SEC-related portions of the bill later this month, with the Agriculture Committee to follow in October on CFTC provisions. If progress continues smoothly, the bill could be brought to the full Senate floor for a vote by November.
While the proposal has not yet secured Democratic support, Lummis emphasized that bipartisan negotiations are ongoing. “There have been efforts to pair Democrats and Republicans on certain sub-issues within the bill,” she explained, stressing that cross-party backing will be key to passing the legislation.
Crypto firms urge Senate to protect developers in market bill
Alongside the legislative updates, crypto industry leaders are pressing lawmakers to include protections for developers and non-custodial service providers. Last month, a coalition of 112 crypto companies, advocacy groups, and investors—including major names like Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, a16z, and Uniswap Labs—sent a joint letter to the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees.
The group warned that outdated financial regulations could misclassify developers and software providers as intermediaries, exposing them to rules that were never designed for their role. This, they argued, creates uncertainty that is already pushing talent overseas.
The letter highlighted research from Electric Capital showing that the U.S. share of open-source blockchain developers has fallen sharply from 25% in 2021 to just 18% in 2025. The coalition urged lawmakers to provide regulatory clarity to stop the ongoing brain drain and to keep the U.S. competitive in blockchain innovation.