The committee released a draft bill in November proposing a regulatory framework, but some lawmakers still have concerns about provisions on DeFi, ethics and stablecoins.
The US Senate Agriculture Committee, one of two committees in the chamber considering legislation to establish digital asset market structure, is expected to release its text of the bill by the close of business on Wednesday.
Chair John Boozman said last week that the committee would release its version of the Digital Asset Markets Clarity (CLARITY) Act on Wednesday, with a markup hearing scheduled for the following Tuesday. However, the committee had not announced any updates since Coinbase effectively derailed a scheduled markup in the Senate Banking Committee last week by pulling its support for the bill.
Some Senate Democrats have reportedly been pushing for additional restrictions on decentralized finance within the market structure bill. Coupled with Coinbase pulling its support for the banking committee’s bill and concerns over the wording of the text regarding potential conflicts of interest and stablecoin rewards, it’s unclear whether either piece of legislation has enough political momentum to make it out of committee.
“There *will* be a crypto market structure bill — it’s a question of when, not if,” said White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt in a Tuesday X post. “Assuming a multi-trillion dollar industry will continue to operate indefinitely without a comprehensive regulatory framework is pure fantasy.”
At the time of publication, Boozman had not publicly stated whether the postponement of the banking committee’s markup would affect efforts to pass market structure in the agriculture committee. Both bodies, largely focused on securities and commodities regulation, respectively, would likely need to sign off on their versions of the bill to pave the way for a floor vote in the Senate.
US President Donald Trump said at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Wednesday that he planned to sign the market structure bill into law “very soon.” Although some reports signaled that the White House was clashing with Coinbase, CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange was continuing to discuss the matter with officials.
Will the US midterm elections interfere with market structure?
The United States will hold midterm elections in November, which have the potential to restore Democrats to majority control in the House of Representatives and Senate. Although the elections are still about nine months away, some lawmakers and industry advocates have speculated that campaigns could interfere with efforts to pass a market structure bill.
In October, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, who also sits on the banking committee, reportedly said that lawmakers had until “the first part of January, February” to pass crypto legislation due to potential complications with the midterms. Senate Republicans will likely need at least some Democrats on board for the bill to pass.
