According to Justin Slaughter, Paradigm’s vice president of regulatory affairs, implementing the crypto market structure bill could take many years due to an extensive rulemaking process.
The bill has reached the Senate committee stage, with bipartisan text under negotiation. The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to mark it up on Thursday, while the Senate Agriculture Committee has postponed its hearing to Jan. 27.
Even if both the House and Senate pass the legislation and President Donald Trump signs it into law, Slaughter warned in a Tuesday X post that full implementation could stretch across nearly two presidential terms. He noted that with “45 rulemakings required in this bill alone,” the rollout is expected to extend beyond the current presidential term and likely continue throughout the next.
The crypto sector has long sought clear guidance from lawmakers, but achieving it may take years.
Rulemaking Could Slow Progress
Similar legislation has often been delayed by the rulemaking process, which requires individual regulators and agencies to work out the details of laws passed by Congress. This process can involve publishing proposed rules, soliciting public comment, and issuing final regulations that carry the force of law—a procedure that can be lengthy.
“Speaking from experience, Dodd-Frank still isn’t finished today, and most of the non-CFTC rules were completed between 2013 and 2018, three to eight years after passage,” said Justin Slaughter, vice president of regulatory affairs at Paradigm.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted in 2010 following the 2008 financial crisis, demonstrates how major financial reforms can take years of agency rulemaking before fully reshaping markets.
Bill Could Face Multiple Hurdles
Before any rulemaking can begin, the crypto market structure bill must pass Congress. Slaughter notes that this step could take considerable time, and there’s a possibility the bill could face multiple setbacks before becoming law.
“I’ll be watching on Thursday to see if there is a bipartisan process or things fall apart. But I’ve never seen a major bill that passed into law that didn’t die a few times before it ultimately came through, so hope always springs eternal.”
