Congressional committees have moved forward with nominations for regulators tasked with overseeing crypto, but the full Senate has yet to confirm them. Additionally, we are running short on time for market structure discussions.
PS: I will be in Washington, D.C. for the Blockchain Association’s annual summit. I’d love to meet up if you’re attending.
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The narrative
Two weeks ago, this newsletter highlighted the dwindling opportunities for the crypto industry to secure legislative achievements by 2025. Now, as December unfolds and with the House and Senate facing their last two scheduled working weeks, it’s crucial to assess what remains to be addressed.
Why it matters
Regulatory agencies have begun making advances since last month to propel crypto initiatives. However, Congress is still in a perplexing state of uncertainty.
Breaking it down
The primary question remains when Congress might progress with market structure legislation. It has become evident that this bill, in whatever form it ultimately takes, will not become law until next year at the earliest.
What remains uncertain is whether the drafts we’ve seen will even reach a markup hearing before January. The Senate Banking Committee is tentatively targeting December 18 for a markup on its version, but negotiations on the bill’s text seem to still be in motion. Similarly, the Senate Agriculture Committee has not issued any public comments regarding their version of the market structure bill since the initial draft was released weeks ago.
The Senate appears to be advancing President Donald Trump’s nominees for the CFTC and FDIC more visibly. Both Mike Selig and Travis Hill are included in a Senate Resolution aimed at allowing Congress to confirm nearly 100 nominees simultaneously. A vote was anticipated for this week but did not occur; the Senate is now expected to vote on this resolution sometime next week.
This week
- The Senate will vote on a resolution to confirm, among others, CFTC Chair nominee Mike Selig and FDIC Chair nominee Travis Hill.
If you have thoughts or questions regarding what I should cover next week or any feedback to share, feel free to email me at [email protected] or connect with me on Bluesky @nikhileshde.bsky.social.
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See you all next week!
