A long-delayed digital asset market structure bill advanced out of committee on a bipartisan vote, carrying amendments that clarify which firms must register as custodians.
The developer exemption, added shortly before the vote, protects publishers of non-custodial software from money transmission obligations where they never control user assets.
Industry groups welcomed the language while warning that the bill still leaves overlapping supervision between two agencies for tokens that change classification over time.
Consumer groups objected that segregation requirements for customer assets remain weaker than those applied to broker-dealers.
Floor time has not been scheduled, and staff on both sides expect further negotiation over the token classification test before any vote.
