Sen. Tim Scott Hosts Crypto Industry Meeting on Market Structure Bill Negotiations
On December 17, 2025, Senator Tim Scott, chair of the Senate Banking Committee, hosted a meeting with key crypto industry insiders to discuss details of the market structure bill negotiations. The talks brought together representatives from Coinbase, Kraken, Chainlink, the Blockchain Association, DeFi Education Fund, Democratic lawmakers, Goldman Sachs, and SIFMA.
These negotiations come after earlier legislative action this year to pass a law governing U.S. stablecoin issuers, with this new bill envisioned as a subsequent step focused on market structure.
Key points of contention include how decentralized finance (DeFi) is treated and a Democratic proposal aimed at banning senior officials from maintaining personal business ties to the crypto industry, with particular focus on President Donald Trump.
The timeline for concluding these talks is complicated by the upcoming budget deadline, which could delay progress into January 2026 and coincide with potential spending legislation delays.
Efforts so far have not led to a committee markup in the Senate Banking or Agriculture Committees, making the January window critical as it may represent the last major opportunity this year for industry input before further legislative actions.
