Catenaa, Tuesday, January 06, 2025- A sweeping Senate bill to regulate the cryptocurrency industry is moving toward a Senate Banking Committee markup this month, even as lawmakers remain divided and its path forward stays uncertain.
Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott is pressing ahead with plans to hold a hearing and vote on crypto market structure legislation by mid-January, according to people familiar with the discussions. Lawmakers from both parties met Tuesday to review the bill, which would set federal rules for the crypto sector and clarify oversight authority.
The draft under consideration would divide jurisdiction between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It would also establish a category known as ancillary assets to define which digital tokens fall outside securities laws. Committee staff have circulated multiple versions over the past several months.
Despite progress, support remains unclear. People familiar with the talks said the bill may not yet have enough votes from either party to advance out of committee. Some Republicans remain undecided, while Democrats continue to raise concerns about decentralized finance and potential conflicts tied to President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures.
Democrats have pointed to the president’s family involvement in crypto projects and mining operations as a key issue. Republicans, meanwhile, are weighing how far the bill should go in regulating decentralized platforms.
Industry advocates say a markup could help narrow differences. They also note that parallel legislation drafted by the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC, may advance around the same time, requiring the two bills to be reconciled.
The effort faces a tight timeline. Current government funding expires at the end of January, and a shutdown could delay formal legislative work, though staff could continue negotiations behind the scenes.
