June 1: This week in crypto federal policy
DC Decentralized: A weekly newsletter on developments in digital asset and blockchain federal policy
This week decoded
Driving the week in crypto federal policy, the CFTC approved the first bitcoin perpetual contract on a regulated domestic exchange, a move CFTC Chair Mike Selig framed as onshoring one of the most liquid segments of the crypto market.
On Capitol Hill, the CLARITY Act continues its winding path through the Senate, as the Banking and Agriculture committees merge their versions into one cohesive bill and traditional financial firms commit to fighting it. Democratic support, required for final passage, remains contingent on yet-to-be-negotiated ethics provisions. As we’ve mentioned before, the Senate schedule is tight and a potential floor vote could get pushed up against the August recess.
Meanwhile, in the House, the Ways and Means Committee is reportedly considering a crypto tax hearing this month, as Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) continues drafting a broad digital asset tax bill.
Read more below
Congress
Hearings
This week
On June 3, the Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on “The President’s FY2027 Budget for the Department of the Treasury.”
On June 4, the House Ways and Means Committee holds a hearing on “The President’s FY2027 Budget for the Department of the Treasury.”
On June 4, the House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing on “Oversight of Prudential Regulators.”
Upcoming
On June 9, the House Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Converging Criminal Enterprises: Chinese Money Laundering Networks and Cartel Financing in the U.S. Financial System.”
Legislation
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) reintroduced the Chinese CBDC Prohibition Act to prohibit money services businesses (MSBs), currency dealers, and the U.S. Postal Service, from using any central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including its new digital Yuan. (Press release)
Correspondence
Reps. Dwight Evans (D-PA) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA) sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requesting information on how the agency is overseeing the increased power demand from data centers, including crypto mining facilities, and how the Trump administration’s decision to cancel 223 clean-energy projects could impact transmission planning and delivering electricity to consumers due to changes in energy supply. (Press release)
Trump Administration
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
The CFTC issued an Order for Approval to Kalshi for the listing of the BTCPERP Contract, a perpetual contract that references the spot price of bitcoin, as a futures contract. (Press release)
The CFTC released a policy statement saying that, because perpetual contracts vary depending on their underlying asset, a case-by-case review is necessary for perpetual contracts that reference asset classes that are not contemplated in the Kalshi Order. (Press release)
Noteworthy Quotes and Events
ADMINISTRATION
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
CFTC Chair Michael Selig published an op-ed in CoinDesk entitled “What American crypto asset perpetuals mean for the future of crypto,” saying, For the first time, the world’s most sophisticated financial system has opened the door for crypto asset perpetuals to operate within its regulated framework. And while Congress has an important role to play in delivering long-term statutory clarity for crypto asset markets, the CFTC will continue advancing initiatives related to tokenized collateral, crypto asset market structure and prediction markets. Innovation is coming onshore. American crypto asset perpetuals are here, and the U.S. will continue to lead in this new frontier of finance.” (Op-ed)
White House
President Trump posted on Truth Social, “Gary Gensler and the ‘Anti-Crypto Army’ nearly DESTROYED the American Crypto Industry by driving Bitcoin, Crypto Perpetuals, and INNOVATION offshore, but ‘TRUMP’ SAVED IT. America is now the CRYPTO CAPITAL of the WORLD, and Builders and Entrepreneurs are coming BACK to the United States where they belong. Under my Leadership, we will codify a FUTURE-PROOF Digital Asset Market Structure that cannot be undone by the Crypto Haters. The new Frontier of Finance is being Built in America, and ‘TRUMP’ will NEVER let Crypto down! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Commissioner Hester Peirce delivered remarks at the Institute of International Economic Law at Georgetown Law entitled “Privacy and PetShops: Remarks at the Regulatory PETshop Series: Cryptographic Technologies and Financial Services Regulation” in which she said, “So often in a discussion about privacy, we talk about how we can balance the need to keep personal information private with the need to defend our nation. But little focus is often given to the fact that these interests are not diametric opposites. In fact, privacy can help enhance investor protection. We think about this fact in the context of the Crypto Task Force’s work. Current regulations require transfer agents to record the name and physical address of security holders. Permissionless crypto networks allow for the movement of funds through pseudonymous public wallet addresses. On many crypto networks, these addresses allow anyone to verify exactly where a certain asset resides. The address also allows for a degree of privacy; my public address is just a code of alphanumeric characters with no personally identifiable information. If transfer agents were given the flexibility to record that securities reside on the blockchain at a public address, we could save investors the risk of having to hand over information about where they live to people they have never met and rarely interact with. Another honeypot of data would be spared.” (Remarks)
SEC Chair Paul Atkins posted “For too long, the SEC was at odds with new technology and innovation, pushing entrepreneurs offshore. That era is over. Under President Trump’s leadership, and alongside colleagues across the Admin and Congress, we are delivering much needed clarity to digital asset markets.”
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
CFTC posted “Commission Staff Confirms the Categorization of Certain Crypto Asset Perpetuals as Foreign Futures and Issues No-Action Letter Regarding FCM Transfers of Customer Crypto Assets to Foreign Brokers as Margin”
CFTC Chair Mike Selig posted “Today’s action to onshore crypto asset perpetuals reflects the CFTC’s commitment to fostering responsible innovation while ensuring that these novel products are traded on regulated exchanges that uphold customer protections and market integrity. This commitment guided my earliest remarks as Chairman and will continue to guide the Commission’s work as it looks to ensure that the new frontier of finance is built in America.”
Selig also posted “In my first public remarks as CFTC Chairman, I made clear that the agency would use the tools at its disposal to onshore crypto asset perpetuals. Today, the CFTC delivered on that commitment. This morning, the CFTC took historic action to permit the listing of a true bitcoin perpetual contract by a CFTC-registered exchange, charting a path for one of the most liquid segments of the crypto asset markets to exist within the US regulatory framework.”
Selig also posted “Thanks to POTUS’ leadership, America is the Crypto Capital of the World. Bitcoin, Crypto Perpetuals, and INNOVATION are Coming to America.”
CONGRESS
CLARITY Act
Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) posted “The Clarity Act ensures America remains in the driver’s seat of financial innovation. I’m proud of Senate Banking Committee Members for working together to advance this bill.”
Scott also posted “Lower prices, faster transactions, and the power to make decisions in your hands - that’s what the Clarity Act is about.”
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) posted “Where other admins have senselessly punished the digital asset industry, Pres. Trump has promoted policies that embrace this industry & help it thrive. Let’s get the bipartisan Clarity Act to his desk so he can make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world with a stroke of a pen”
Lummis also posted “Without the Clarity Act, if a digital asset exchange goes bankrupt, customers have no guaranteed right to their own assets. They join a creditor line w/ other Wall Street firms and expensive lawyers and hope for the best. This is a consumer protection failure Congress must fix.”
Lummis also posted “The next window for digital asset legislation after this Congress is likely 2030. Until then, developers remain exposed with no legal protections, and law enforcement remains without the tools to hold bad actors accountable. The Clarity Act solves both.”
On timing for floor consideration, Lummis said, “The earliest it could be ready, even in terms of the document itself, is the second half of June.” (Punchbowl)
On ethics language, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said, “It’s obviously a complicated bill, and this is a complicated part of it – in my view, too complicated. There’s a lot more work that needs to be done to make sure it applies to all federal officials. No carveouts, no loopholes, no special treatment.” (Punchbowl)
On Republican support for ethics language, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) said, “The timeline’s up to them. At the end of the day, if it’s not in there, it’s not passing.” (Punchbowl)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) posted “It’s already too easy for our adversaries to exploit crypto to move billions. We should be strengthening standards, not creating new gaps our adversaries can exploit. The Clarity Act should not pass as written.”
Warren also posted “Crypto billionaires helped install an agency head who would be willing to undo past law enforcement actions against their companies. This is a scandal. The crypto legislation Congress is considering would give even more power to this captured agency.”
Financial Services GOP posted “The House passed the CLARITY Act because America cannot afford to lead the world in innovation while lagging behind in rules. It delivers clear market structure, stronger consumer protections, and certainty for innovators — all while keeping jobs and investment here at home. Now it’s time to finish the job.”
Miscellaneous
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said, “Crypto ATMs are found in almost every town in Illinois. You have probably seen one in your local gas station or grocery store. Scammers use these machines to cheat hard-working Americans out of their savings because the transactions are virtually untraceable. My bill, the Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act, would establish protections for consumers and hold these scammers accountable so no more Americans lose their hard-earned money.” (Press release)
Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) posted “Trump has been gutting the agency responsible for policing crypto and prediction markets, and it’s not hard to figure out why. His family profits directly from both. The pattern is pretty straightforward. Top officials who enforced the laws and raised questions about Trump-connected companies were put on leave. And while all of that was happening, Donald Trump Jr. joined Polymarket’s advisory board with millions invested in the platform, and the agency quietly dropped its investigation into Polymarket just months after his father took office. This is CORRUPTION.”
Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) posted “A permanent ban on CBDC is a critical piece when creating a sensible framework of good standards for digital assets in our country. Congress must codify President Trump’s EO into law.”
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) posted “Americans’ Fourth Amendment freedoms are not a suggestion. Ban CBDC. Reform FISA. Kill the Kill Switch. It’s time to dismantle the Surveillance State.”
Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) posted “When has the federal government ever said to the American people, “You know what, we are going to give our power away”? NEVER. Congress must act. BAN CBDC—FOREVER. KILL THE KILL SWITCH. REFORM FISA. END THE SURVEILLANCE STATE. DON’T SPY ON ME.”
Self also posted “A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is the third leg in the surveillance state stool. It must be permanently banned!”
Self also posted “Americans don’t want Big Brother controlling our cars, tracking our money, or spying on every corner of our lives. This is America—not some communist surveillance state! END THE SURVEILLANCE STATE. DON’T SPY ON ME!”
What I’m Reading This Week
Styling Crypto Taxation and Market Structure, Lee A. Sheppard, Tax Notes.
About Zero One Strategies
Zero One Strategies is a specialized government relations practice dedicated to navigating the complex landscape of U.S. federal policy in emerging technologies. As advancements in technology continue to outpace regulatory frameworks, Zero One Strategies aims to provide strategic guidance and bipartisan advocacy for innovators and businesses operating at the forefront of technological development.
The practice focuses on key areas such as artificial intelligence, digital assets, blockchain, decentralized technologies, cybersecurity, data, and digital infrastructure, as well as the multiple policy issues impacting these sectors, including tax and financial services.
Contact us at Stacey@ZeroOneStrategies.com
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