The Senate Agriculture Committee postponed the margin hearing for its cryptocurrency market structure bill, previously scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, for two days.
The committee had intended to allow lawmakers to debate amendments and vote on its version of the bill, which aims to define how the Commodity Futures Trading Commission can oversee crypto markets, but a once-in-a-decade winter storm hit the East Coast and much of the eastern half of the country over the weekend, canceling flights and changing the Senate calendar.
The Senate had preemptively canceled a vote scheduled for Monday afternoon on a government-wide funding package. The US government ran out of funds on Friday night and the House of Representatives passed its funding package on Thursday.
The Senate needs to vote to advance its funding bills; These votes were postponed until Tuesday afternoon, giving lawmakers the opportunity to fly back to Washington, DC after finishing their session last week.
On Monday, the Agriculture Committee said it would hold its hearing on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. ET, citing “winter weather.”
The hearing is expected to be controversial; While the Agriculture Committee was seen as likely to have a more bipartisan draft, committee Chairman John Boozman said in a statement last week that he and his negotiating counterpart, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, were unable to reach an agreement on the text due to “fundamental policy differences.”
Democrats unveiled a series of proposed amendments on Friday, pointing out where these disagreements lie. They included provisions requiring top government officials to make ethical commitments and strong language requiring regulatory agencies to be governed by bipartisan commissions.
The Senate Banking Committee, which also needs to pass market structure legislation, postponed its own hearing on its version of the bill earlier this month, although unlike the Agriculture Committee, it has not yet set a new date.
The SEC and CFTC also postponed a joint press appearance scheduled for Tuesday to Thursday afternoon at 2:00 pm ET.
Read more: The big US cryptocurrency bill is on the move. Here’s what it means for everyday users
UPDATE (January 26, 2026, 15:38 UTC): Adds additional details, including SEC/CFTC deferral
