White House Digital Asset Advisor Calls for Immediate Crypto Market Structure Bill

Patrick Witt, White House Executive Director of the President’s Crypto Council, has advocated for the urgent passage of crypto market structure legislation.

Pushing back Coinbase CEO’s “no bill is better than a bad bill” line, Witt argues that it is a “privilege” to say that only because Donald Trump won in 2024 and installed a pro‑crypto administration.

He wrote on X on Wednesday that it is unrealistic to expect a multi-trillion-dollar industry to operate without a comprehensive regulatory framework.

“No bill is better than a bad bill.”

What a privilege it is to be able to say those words thanks to President Trump’s victory, and the pro-crypto administration he has assembled.

But let’s not kid ourselves. There *will* be a crypto market structure bill — it’s a question of…

— Patrick Witt (@patrickjwitt) January 21, 2026

Witt bluntly warned that if the bill fails to move ahead, a future Democratic Congress may write punitive legislation in the wake of a crisis, “à la Dodd‑Frank.”

“You might not love every part of the CLARITY Act, but I can guarantee you’ll hate a future Dem version even more,” he wrote.

Crypto Market Bill Delays – Disagreements Over Details

Patrick Witt’s comments follow the recent legislative slowdown, mainly due to disagreements over a specific section of the bill.

Notably, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase withdrew its support for the legislation’s then-current version, labeling specific provisions as “problematic” and potentially harmful to innovation.

“This version would be materially worse than the current status quo. We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill. Hopefully, we can all get to a better draft,” wrote Brian Armstrong in a post last week.

The current version of the bill prompted the Senate Banking Committee to postpone its markup hearing. Chairman Tim Scott noted that the Committee did not set a new date.

The delay leaves crypto industry waiting again for a clear regulatory path that could replace years of enforcement with a proper framework.

Besides, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman said that lawmakers need more time to finalize remaining policy details and ensure broad congressional support.