Project 2025 Tracker / What’s done, what’s next

27. Financial Regulatory Agencies · Notable · Needs Congress

Modernize the statutory definition of commodity and clarify digital assets

Attempted

833 27. Financial Regulatory Agencies

“Modernize the definition of commodity (which is now largely a laundry list of agricultural commodities) and clarify the treatment of digital assets.”

What has happened

  1. Attempted

    The House passed H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, 294-134 (Roll no. 199). Section 103 amends the definitions in section 1a of the Commodity Exchange Act to add "digital commodity" to the categories of commodity interest, section 401(e) makes a conforming amendment to the definition of "commodity" in 7 U.S.C. 1a(9), and section 201 excludes "investment contract assets" from the definition of investment contract in the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, the Investment Advisers Act, the Investment Company Act and SIPA — so the bill does clarify the treatment of digital assets in the statute. It does not rewrite the laundry-list definition of commodity the Quote complains of. The Senate has not passed it: Banking reported it with a substitute on 2026-06-01, a motion to proceed and a cloture motion on that motion were made on 2026-08-08, and neither committee action nor floor consideration short of a passage vote is a rung. Separately, the SEC and CFTC clarified the treatment of digital assets administratively on 2026-03-23, but by joint interpretation rather than by amending either statutory definition.

Research log

What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence

Research notes

Two aspects, both framed as statute: modernize the Commodity Exchange Act’s definition of “commodity”, and clarify how digital assets are treated.

  • The bill. H.R. 3633 was introduced 2025-05-29, reported by Agriculture and by Financial Services 2025-06-23 (H. Rept. 119-168), made in order by H. Res. 580 (agreed 217-212 on 2025-07-16), and passed the House 294-134 on 2025-07-17. In the Senate it was reported by Banking with an amendment in the nature of a substitute on 2026-06-01, placed on the calendar (Calendar No. 423), and on 2026-08-08 a motion to proceed and a cloture motion on it were made. History read from https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/hr/BILLSTATUS-119hr3633.xml.
  • What the text does. Section 103 amends CEA section 1a paragraphs (10), (11) and (12) to insert “digital commodity” and to exclude custody, inventory management and blockchain validation from “trading in commodity interests”. Section 401(e)(1) amends 7 U.S.C. 1a(9) — the definition of “commodity” — by striking the second sentence as amended by the GENIUS Act. Section 201 adds a definition of “investment contract asset” and provides that “The term `investment contract’ does not include an investment contract asset.” The bill does not replace the enumerated agricultural list in 1a(9).
  • The administrative clarification. On 2026-03-23 the SEC issued an interpretation, and the CFTC joined it with guidance, classifying crypto assets into digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities, holding that the first three “are not themselves securities”, and stating at note 48 that any non-security crypto asset other than a permitted payment stablecoin “could meet the definition of `commodity’ under the Commodity Exchange Act” (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/23/2026-05635/application-of-the-federal-securities-laws-to-certain-types-of-crypto-assets-and-certain, effective on publication; full text read at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-03-23/html/2026-05635.htm). That interprets the statutory definitions rather than amending them, which is why this ask sits at attempted while #2164, which asks for a joint regulation, sits at partial. The alternative reading — that the second half of this ask was delivered administratively, making it partial — is in the spot-check register.
  • Also in the window, and pointing the same way: the CFTC withdrew its 2020 interpretive guidance on retail commodity transactions in digital assets on 2025-12-16 (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/16/2025-22872/withdrawal-of-interpretive-guidance-retail-commodity-transactions-involving-certain-digital-assets).
Action
other
Object
the statutory definition of “commodity”
ID
2155