This week decoded

Congress returned from the August recess with a full agenda, including maintaining momentum in the Senate on digital asset market structure legislation. Press reports indicate the Senate Banking markup will be later in September, with a markup of Senate Agriculture’s version of market structure following in October, and a floor vote by the end of the year.

In the Trump Administration, the SEC and CFTC announced a joint effort to coordinate on their respective Project Crypto/Crypto Sprint priorities, in addition to harmonizing oversight of SEC- or CFTC-registered exchanges facilitating trading of spot crypto asset products. They will co-host a roundtable later this month. For the first time, the Commerce Department began releasing GDP data on the blockchain.

Read more below

Congress

Hearings

• This week
  • On September 9, the House Financial Services National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions Subcommittee holds a hearing on Evaluating the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Legislation

• The Senate Banking Committee released its full draft of their market structure legislation, the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA). The bill divides regulation between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and provides new authorities to the CFTC. (Text)

• Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) introduced a bill to codify President Trump’s Executive Order 14331 on fair banking.(Text)(Press release)

Trump Administration

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

• The SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets and the CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight and Division of Clearing and Risk announced a cross-agency initiative in furtherance of the SEC’s Project Crypto and the CFTC’s Crypto Sprint to coordinate efforts on enabling the trading of certain spot crypto asset products. The statement presents the Divisions’ view that current law does not prohibit SEC- or CFTC-registered exchanges from facilitating trading of spot crypto asset products. (Statement)(Press release)

• SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline Pham issued a joint statement “signaling a new era of coordination between the two agencies” and announcing a September 29 roundtable on regulatory harmonization. Topics under consideration include expanding 24/7 trading hours, providing clarity for prediction markets and perpetual contracts, aligning portfolio margining frameworks, and exploring innovation exemptions for decentralized finance. (Announcement)

Commerce Department

• Commerce announced that it will begin posting real gross domestic product (GDP) data on the blockchain beginning with the July 2025 data. (Press release)

Noteworthy Quotes and Events

ADMINISTRATION

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

• The SEC tweeted, “‘Market participants should have the freedom to choose where they trade spot crypto assets. The SEC is committed to working with the CFTC to ensure that our regulatory frameworks support innovation and competition in these rapidly evolving markets,’ said SEC Chairman Paul Atkins”

Commerce Department

• Secretary Howard Lutnick tweeted, “The numbers are in: GDP growth has surged by 3.3%. And starting now, CommerceGov has put America’s economic data on the blockchain for the first time ever. Under President Trump, the economy is strong, our workers are winning, and America is leading in crypto & economic innovation.”

CONGRESS

Hearings

• In the Senate Banking hearing to consider the nomination of Stephen Miran, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) asked, “As I have seen it, Chokepoint 2.0, which is the Federal Reserve’s function as bank supervisor, debanking people, which is one of the key reasons that people are getting into digital assets, like the President’s own children. When you get debanked and you have 20,000 employees that you need to make payroll for, and they’re told, we’re closing all your bank accounts. Where are they going to go? They’re going to go to digital assets, because you don’t have to trust a bank, and you don’t have to trust the government. Well, our own Fed has is driving people into digital assets, because finally, there’s something out there you don’t have to trust in order to keep your wealth. Do you think the Federal Reserve Board and reserve banks have been independent from politics in the last several years.”
  • Stephen Miran: “Thank you, Senator I don’t believe that it was a set of non-partisan, non-political objective technocrats that decided to that decided that the Federal Reserve should be the institution that fights climate change. I don’t believe that operation choke point was a non-political act, either. And so if confirmed to the Federal Reserve, I intend to fully respect independents with respect independence with respect to monetary policy. As you say, on regulatory work, there’s a lot of work to be done, and I applaud the work this committee has done on Operation choke points and other matters that you mentioned.”
  • In the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee markup of the FY26 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) offered an amendment to prohibit Presidential conflicts of interest, saying, “President Trump is eagerly cheerleading his family’s new cryptocurrency venture at every opportunity. Trump launched his own cryptocurrency just days before entering office, hosted a dinner at his Virginia property for the 20 220 holders of the so-called meme coin, with the top 25 holders, receiving a private tour of the White House and even more exclusive meeting with the President. I wonder how many more stories we will hear like the story of Justin’s son, a crypto trader who was charged in 2023 with market manipulation, but received a pause in legal proceedings against him after he purchased $30 million in crypto from the Trump family company, becoming the largest holder of the President’s crypto currency. At every turn, he is using the power of the presidency to either promote or actively patronize his family’s businesses to auction off access to the Oval Office or to boost his own image and ego with the White House ballrooms and giant portraits hung on the side of buildings.”

• In the Senate Judiciary hearing to consider the nomination of Jennifer Mascott, nominee as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) asked, “It was recently reported that the President and his family made around $6 billion from the sale of crypto assets. Some of that money, much of that money, comes from the Gulf. If the President were to sell a foreign policy decision to a Gulf nation in exchange for a crypto donation, is he immune from prosecution for that?”
  • Jennifer Mascott: “Senator, I don’t know anything about the situation that you are describing. I know something about the immunity decision.”
  • Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.): “You said it was modest. I’m trying to determine just how modest you think it is. Can the president sell US foreign policy to the highest crypto donor and have a Get Out of Jail Free card, or is he liable for prosecution?”
  • Jennifer Mascott: “Senator if I if I may, the Constitution has many constraints for all of us…”

Trump Crypto Token Launch

• Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) tweeted, “Another Trump family scam. The President is making BILLIONS from his sons’ crypto schemes. Corruptly using his position of power to add to his personal wealth while demanding the gov’t stop oversight of crypto-related crimes like fraud/money laundering.”

• Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) tweeted, “To file under: Waste, Fraud, and Abuse.”

• Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) tweeted, “$5 BILLION. In just two days. Straight into the Trump family’s pockets. This is what crypto corruption looks like—and it’s why we need the #MEMEAct.”

• Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL) tweeted, “Since retaking office, Trump has killed crypto crime investigations, sidelined watchdogs, and installed crypto-friendly regulators. Now, Trump and his family are raking in billions from their crypto scams. This is corruption in plain sight.”

• Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) tweeted, “We already knew Trump and his family have made at least $3.4 billion during his time in the White House – and now they just made $5 BILLION more from their crypto token??? All while regular people are struggling with skyrocketing costs. Unbelievable.”

• Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) tweeted, “While the President is gutting Health Care and SNAP for Millions of Americans, he’s Cashing in on Crypto.”

• Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) tweeted, “Yes, you read that correctly: FIVE. BILLION. DOLLARS. Trump is using the presidency to get rich while working folks struggle. He’s only thinking about his own interests — it’s corruption beyond belief.”

• Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) tweeted, “NEW: Trump family has now made $5 billion off its corrupt crypto deals. Your family gets higher energy prices and cuts to health care. His family gets billions. Corruption, plain and simple.”

• Ways and Means Democrats tweeted, “While your grocery bill went up this Labor Day weekend, Trump is $5 billion richer from his crypto scheme.”

Miscellaneous

• Financial Services GOP tweeted, “NEW: Chairman RepFrenchHill on digital asset market structure legislation: “The CLARITY Act in the House, which I wrote, got 78 Democrat votes here in the House. … We got such overwhelming support by Democrats and Republicans. … I would hope that the Senate would consider taking up the CLARITY Act in their process and simply make improvements to it.”

• Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) tweeted, “It’s time to pass the CLARITY Act and cement the U.S. as the global leader in digital assets.”

• Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) tweeted, “Sound money is essential to defending freedom. Our current system of money is broken and the control freaks who broke it want something worse – Central Bank Digital Currency.”

• Davidson also tweeted, “True story. Self-custody of digital assets faces the same existential threat. Freedom surrendered is rarely reclaimed.”

• Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) tweeted, “Publishing our GDP data on blockchain is a historic move that will ensure America is the global leader in digital innovation and transparency. Thank you POTUS, howardlutnick for your leadership”

• Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) tweeted, “After Trump’s fossil-fuel goons shut down Revolution Wind, I’ve been waiting for the phone to ring with the ransom demand. But maybe this is attempted murder, not extortion, and there will be no demand. That moves us to litigation, where my experience tells me the discovery phase will be fascinating as the lawyers dig into the true motivations and scheming behind this ugly fossil-fuel thuggery. In the meantime, it’s worth spotlighting the corruption. This is a switcheroo to replace the clean energy electrons from Revolution with polluting fossil-fuel-generated electrons, adding revenues to Trump’s political patrons and string-pullers. The fossil fuel plan administered by Trump goons is to destroy energy alternatives until the choice is between tolerating climate upheaval versus having no electricity. In that stark environment, fossil fuel can keep profiting and polluting. Until insurance markets, home mortgage markets, and property values all collapse in climate-endangered areas (from flood and wildfire risk both), taking down the economy and segments of the financial system — as now predicted, by the way. Or until American businesses see their competitiveness erode against international rivals benefitting from cheaper, more abundant, non-polluting energy, and/or are unable to keep up with technology as the world moves to cleaner, cheaper power. Where is the outrage from business? This is the biggest single destruction of business investment I can think of, after huge reliance interests were created, without process or warning, ‘arbitrarily and capriciously’ as lawyers would say. Where’s the Chamber? Is the business community so cowed by Trump’s goons, or so beholden to fossil fuel, that it will turn a blind eye to conduct that would have provoked howls of outrage if the shoe were on the other foot? ‘First, they came for offshore wind…’ Where are the Republican ‘principles’ against government picking winners and losers, or against government destroying private property interests, or for predictable government decision-making? All gone; fossil fuel interests trump principle in this era. Where are the tech bros, AI folks, and crypto crowd, as pinched supply drives data farm costs skyward to meet their demand? Domestic data farms and energy-dependent AI and crypto interests may actually price themselves out of competitiveness.”

About Zero One Strategies

Zero One Strategies is a boutique 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, blockchain, decentralized technologies, cybersecurity, data, and digital infrastructure, as well as the multiple policy issues impacting these sectors, including tax and financial services.

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