Market Structure Bill in 2026 Faces Uncertainty Amid Regulatory Developments
A December 29, 2025 article assesses the likelihood of a crypto market structure bill passing in 2026, with insiders expressing doubts about Senate passage before the anticipated spring gridlock due to the bill's complexity and sensitive nature. The proposed legislation aims to formally legalize the majority of token issuers and intermediaries in the United States, thereby granting legitimacy to the crypto industry.
Some policy leaders point to recent pro-crypto actions taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as factors reducing the urgency for new legislation. A token safe harbor expected to be introduced in January is similarly cited as lessening the immediate need for the market structure bill.
Despite this, there are warnings that failure to pass the bill could lead to long-term instability in the crypto sector and erode public trust. One policy insider has described lawmakers' fixation on passing the bill in 2026 as "market structure derangement syndrome." Meanwhile, regulators are moving forward with rewriting the crypto regulatory framework independently, with the SEC asserting broad exemptive authority under the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934.
If the market structure bill does not pass, the industry may face political volatility and potentially miss opportunities to onboard skeptical investors.
