The U.S. Senate Banking Committee won’t hold any markup hearings until next year on market structure legislation that would define how federal regulators oversee the industry, betting on a hearing that many hope will happen this weekend.
A spokesperson for the commission said in a statement on Monday, “The Chairman [Tim] Scott and the Senate Banking Committee have made significant progress on the bill with their Democratic counterparts, but lawmakers are still negotiating.
While the delay was expected, it is still a blow to the crypto industry, which had hoped to see at least a hearing on the hike without more substantial progress on the hoped-for sweeping new laws in 2025. It’s unclear how quickly lawmakers will be able to resume negotiations in the new year. Congress’ main focus will be on funding the U.S. government after the holidays, as the current funding bill is set to expire on January 30. Assuming there is no further government shutdown, lawmakers still have limited time to study market structure before next year’s midterm elections become their top priority.
“From the beginning, Chairman Scott has been clear that this effort should be bipartisan,” a spokesman for the committee said. “He has consistently and patiently engaged in good-faith discussions to produce strong bipartisan products that provide clarity to the digital asset industry and make the United States the cryptocurrency capital of the world. The committee is continuing negotiations and looks forward to implementing a markup in early 2026.”
The Market Structure Act seeks to define how the SEC and CFTC oversee cryptocurrency markets, designate the CFTC as the primary spot market regulator for cryptocurrencies, and more clearly define how securities laws apply to the industry.
The Banking Committee, which oversees the SEC, has developed multiple drafts, while the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC, has so far produced a discussion draft and will need to hold its own hearing on the price increase.
Sticking points for Democrats include concerns about financial stability, market integrity and ethics — the last part largely a response to President Donald Trump and his family’s various crypto-related businesses that have increased his family’s fortune to billions of dollars.
Although the bill has been delayed, both the SEC and the CFTC have begun efforts to become more friendly regulators to the industry. The SEC has issued multiple staff statements and held roundtables (most recently early Monday) to discuss how securities laws apply to various aspects of cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has begun allowing its licensed institutions to engage in spot cryptocurrency trading and last week granted no-action relief to prediction market operators over certain data requirements.
Read more: US market structure bill likely to be delayed until January as talks continue
