A US Senate committee formally advanced the cryptocurrency market structure bill on Thursday, moving to a new stage with legislation that the industry hopes will help it reach a new level of investor confidence and participation.
The main political effort of the crypto sector in the Senate has reached this point, although there are some obstacles. The committee that worked on the bill was the Senate Agriculture Committee, and its Republican chairman decided to walk away from negotiations and vote on the legislation without bipartisan support. The resulting Republican-driven outcome, which quickly concludes with a 12-11 party-line vote, will still need to muster significant Democratic support before it can finally overcome the Senate’s structural hurdles.
“After months of work, we have made significant progress, really significant progress working together,” committee Chairman John Boozman said as the panel began its work. “Now is the time to move this process forward.”
Democrats in the long-awaited review session lined up as a unified bloc to oppose Republican preferences, illustrating the partisan standoff that has not yet been overcome. Several Democrats indicated that they hope to continue working on it to reach a bipartisan version, and Boozman himself acknowledged that the text can be updated through an amendment by the manager before it passes through the Senate.
“The progress that’s been made here is good, but I think we believe we’re not done yet,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the ranking Democrat on the panel. “I hope we can continue to negotiate as this bill moves forward.”
The Agriculture Committee is one of two panels that must ultimately approve the legislation. However, it is the Senate Banking Committee that could have the most difficulty, because its version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act contains some of the most controversial elements, including the issue of stablecoin performance. That effort, however, has been delayed at its own margin and hampered by the search for a compromise that satisfies a range of interests, including those of Wall Street banking lobbyists.
The White House intends to host another meeting next week with the intention of finding common ground between crypto, banking, Republican, Democratic and administrative interests. President Donald Trump and his representatives have rejected a couple of central points of the legislative effort, including Democrats’ demands that he and other top government officials be prevented from personally benefiting from cryptocurrency business interests.
Sen. Corey Booker, the top Democratic negotiator, said the White House has made progress on the bill “infinitely more difficult.” “It’s ridiculous that the president of the United States and his family have made billions of dollars from this industry and are still trying to create a framework here without the type of ethics that would prevent this type of serious corruption in our country,” Booker said.
On Thursday, the first amendment hearing addressed the Democrats’ ethical component.
Boozman also appeared to support another of Democrats’ requests: that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission get a full slate of commissioners as it takes a leading role in overseeing cryptocurrencies.
“It is essential to have a fully staffed bipartisan commission,” he said.
The chairman noted at the conclusion of the margin that the committee now needs to work with its counterparts on the Banking Committee and with House lawmakers to come up with something that can be supported by both parties. He also said some of the amendments offered better fit that committee’s version of the bill.
If all goes well, here’s what it will take to turn the bill into law:
- After the legislation passed the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday, it will eventually have to do the same in the Banking Committee.
- The various versions would have to be combined for a final bill in the Senate, potentially giving the bill’s proponents another chance to satisfy resistant Democrats.
- A combined bill could then be presented to the Senate for a final vote.
- A yes at that stage takes it back to the House of Representatives, which has already passed its own version of the legislation with an overwhelming majority.
- Another passage sends the Clarity Act to Trump to sign into law.
The cryptocurrency industry is already in for a high-stakes victory this session of Congress, as it has introduced a bill to govern US stablecoin issuers, achieving its first major legislative victory in the US.
Read More: Live Blog: Senate Agriculture Committee Advances Crypto Market Structure Bill
