Senate Democrats serious about crypto bill reboot, they said in call with industry

U.S. Senate Democrats have returned to negotiations over the best approach to a crypto market structure bill, hosting a Friday call with representatives of the crypto industry in which the lawmakers were strongly engaged over the next steps, according to people familiar with the talks.

After this week's high-profile legislative setback that saw a sudden delay in the Senate's first voting on the legislation, the Democrats sought to demonstrate they're still ready to move a bill. And participants came away from the noon call with a sense that the Senate Agriculture Committee is still trying to make its end-of-month target for a markup hearing, the people said, though the industry representatives were asked not to share the specific details discussed.

Democrats from both committees that need to pass the crypto bill — the Senate Banking Committee and the Agriculture Committee — got on the call the day after the first hearing had been set to take place on Thursday before the banking panel. The draft legislation released this week drew some significant criticism, and U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase declared the company couldn't support that version.

So far, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott hasn't set the new date for a markup hearing in which the lawmakers weigh amendments and potentially vote to advance a bill toward the Senate floor. The next stop on the calendar is the agriculture panel's own markup, still set for January 27, though industry insiders had wondered whether that, too, would get delayed.

If both committees can approve bills — with the banking version focused on the Securities and Exchange Commission and the agriculture one focused on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — the two versions would be combined for a unified bill that could be voted on by the whole Senate. Assuming the Senate's work isn't further derailed by the debate over federal spending coming to a head at the end of this month, the window still remains open for legislation.

However, Senate-floor bandwidth gets tight as the calendar moves closer to the August recess. This year's midterm congressional elections not only complicate the politics of a bipartisan legislative effort, but they foul up the Senate calendar as members disperse to their campaigning commitments.

The crypto bill remains one of the only projects that both parties are willing to work with each other on. It represents an unusual calm in the political storm, with each side apparently eager to negotiate an end product that can pass.