Senate punts crypto market structure bill to next year

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will not have any markup hearings on market structure legislation defining how federal regulators can oversee the industry until next year, punting on a hoped-for hearing that many sought to hold near the end of this week.

A spokesperson for the committee said in a statement on Monday that "Chairman [Tim] Scott and the Senate Banking Committee have made strong progress with Democratic counterparts" on the bill but that lawmakers were still negotiating.

While the delay was expected, it's still a blow to the crypto industry, which at least wanted to see a markup hearing, in the absence of more substantial progress toward a sweeping new law that was hoped for in 2025. It's unclear how quickly lawmakers might be able to resume negotiations in the new year.

Congress's main focus will be on funding the U.S. government after it returns from the holiday break, as a current funding bill will expire on Jan. 30. Assuming the government does not shut down again, lawmakers will still have a limited amount of time to work on market structure before next year's midterm elections become their main priority.

"From the outset, Chairman Scott has been clear that this effort should be bipartisan," the committee spokesperson said. "He has consistently and patiently engaged in good-faith discussions to produce a strong bipartisan product that provides clarity for the digital asset industry and also makes America the crypto capital of the world. The Committee is continuing to negotiate and looks forward to a markup in early 2026."

The market structure bill is intended to define how the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission can oversee the crypto markets, designating the CFTC a primary spot market regulator for crypto and more clearly defining how securities laws might apply to the sector.

The Banking Committee, which oversees the SEC has produced multiple drafts, while the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC, has produced one discussion draft so far and will also need to hold its own markup hearing.

Sticking points from Democrats include concerns about financial stability, market integrity and ethics — that last part largely a response to President Donald Trump and his family's various crypto-related businesses, which have boosted his family's fortunes to the tune of billions of dollars.

Though the bill is delayed, the SEC and CFTC have both begun efforts to become friendlier regulators to the industry regardless. The SEC has published a number of staff statements and held roundtables — one as recently as earlier Monday — to discuss how securities laws could apply to various facets of crypto. Meanwhile, the CFTC has moved to start allowing institutions it has licensed to engage in spot crypto trading, and last week it granted no-action relief to prediction market operators around certain data requirements.

Not everyone views the delay as bad news. Blockchain Association Chief Policy Officer Lindsay Fraser said that the delay signals robust bipartisan involvement rather than any fading drive.

“Pushing market structure legislation into next year reflects the depth of bipartisan engagement underway – not a loss of momentum. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are actively working through the details to ensure the final framework is durable, pro-consumer, and pro-innovation, and that kind of serious policymaking takes time," Fraser told CoinDesk.

"The progress we’ve seen this Congress puts the industry in a strong position to get this done in early 2026," Fraser added.

Crypto Council for Innovation's CEO Ji Hun Kim welcomed the ongoing bipartisan efforts from lawmakers and staff to tackle thorny market structure challenges, while underscoring the need for a full-fledged regulatory framework.

"Establishing a comprehensive market structure framework is essential to protect consumers and ensure innovation remains anchored in the United States, and we look forward to next steps in early 2026 to finish the job," Kim said.

Dec. 16, 05:00 UTC: Adds comments from Blockchain Association and Crypto Council for Innovation.

Read more: U.S. Market Structure Bill May Slide to January as Talks Continue Over Several Points