Variant Chief Legal Officer: The US Senate Democratic Party's counter-proposal to the Responsible Financial Innovation Act actually bans cryptocurrencies in disguise, and the prospect of the Crypto Market Structure Act is worrying

Variant's chief legal officer, Jake Chervinsky, said in an X post that a group had just submitted a counterproposal to the Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA), but the proposal was not serious. The senators claimed to support cryptocurrencies, but what they proposed was essentially equivalent to a total ban on cryptocurrencies.
It is difficult to reach a reasonable consensus at the moment. If you have not paid attention to the market structure-related bill before, it is important to note that the key progress is currently concentrated in the Senate. Looking back, the House of Representatives passed the House version of the bill - the Crypto Asset Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) - by a large 294-134 vote in July. The Senate decided to draft the version of the bill on its own, and the version needs 60 votes to pass. 3 Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee have been working on the securities regulation part of the bill (known as the Responsible Financial Innovation Act RFIA), and have released two drafts for public discussion.
The draft released on September 9, 2025 is solid in content and has value for advancement.
The draft RFIA is well-positioned on several key issues, the most important of which is that it will protect software developers from unreasonable regulation (and criminal prosecution) and prevent future governments from returning to the era of Gary Gensler-led regulation. Without this core provision, the bill would be meaningless.