U.S. Senate Crypto Market Structure Bill Faces Challenges as Deadline Looms
The White House has blocked proposals while Democrats circulate a counteroffer in late-stage negotiations over a crypto market structure bill in the U.S. Senate. Democrats have largely accepted the GOP framework but are demanding significant structural changes that would affect financial stability, market integrity, national-security enforcement, and ethics rules for public officials. With the current session ending soon, time is running short for a Senate markup, and the calendar is pushing the process toward January 2025 if not completed now.
Several key issues remain unresolved, including stronger asset disclosures and secondary-market protections, new tools to deter illicit finance, preventing regulatory bypass via decentralization claims, and imposing strict limits on stablecoin yields amid deposit-flight concerns. There is also continued contention over long-term regulatory oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including previous efforts to include bipartisan commissioners in the Senate Agriculture Committee's draft legislation.
Democrats are pushing for firm ethics rules to prevent elected officials from issuing or profiting from crypto projects, a concern influenced by scrutiny around Trump-family ventures. Meanwhile, the House has passed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, though the Senate is developing its own version. Activists and some Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, oppose the current Senate approach, warning it could pose risks to financial stability.
