The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has decided against holding markup hearings on legislation pertaining to market structure that would clarify how federal regulators oversee the industry until the following year, passing up on a much-anticipated hearing that many hoped would occur at the end of this week.
A representative from the committee stated on Monday that “Chairman [Tim] Scott and the Senate Banking Committee have made significant progress alongside Democratic colleagues” regarding the bill, but that discussions are still ongoing.
Although the delay was anticipated, it remains a setback for the crypto sector, which at least wanted to witness a markup hearing due to the lack of substantial advancements toward a comprehensive new law aimed for 2025. It remains uncertain how swiftly lawmakers can resume negotiations when the new year begins. The primary focus of Congress will be on funding the U.S. government after returning from the holiday recess, given that the current funding legislation is set to expire on January 30. Provided that there is no government shutdown, lawmakers will have limited time to address market structure issues before the midterm elections become their main concern.
“From the beginning, Chairman Scott has emphasized that this initiative should be bipartisan,” noted the committee spokesperson. “He has consistently engaged in good-faith discussions to craft a robust bipartisan solution that provides clarity for the digital asset sector and positions America as the leading hub for crypto globally. The Committee continues to negotiate and looks forward to a markup in early 2026.”
This market structure legislation aims to clarify how the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission can regulate the crypto markets, designating the CFTC as the primary regulator for spot markets in crypto and further specifying how securities laws may apply to the industry.
The Banking Committee, responsible for overseeing the SEC, has produced several drafts, while the Senate Agriculture Committee, which supervises the CFTC, has released one discussion draft thus far and will also need to conduct its own markup hearing.
Key concerns from Democrats include issues of financial stability, market integrity, and ethics — the latter largely being a reaction to President Donald Trump and his family’s various crypto-related business ventures, which have significantly increased their wealth by billions.
Despite the delay in the bill, both the SEC and CFTC have initiated efforts to be more accommodating regulators to the industry. The SEC has issued several staff statements and conducted roundtable discussions — one as recently as Monday — regarding the application of securities laws to various aspects of crypto. Meanwhile, the CFTC has begun allowing licensed institutions to engage in spot trading for crypto, and last week it granted no-action relief to prediction market operators regarding certain data requirements.
Read more: U.S. Market Structure Bill May Slide to January as Talks Continue Over Several Points
