Provisions addressing decentralized finance, SEC jurisdiction and authorities and — of course — stablecoin yield all alarmed industry participants.
The crypto market structure bill isn't dead, but it took a blow.
Legislative language which would grant some legal protections to crypto software developers, falls under the Senate Judiciary Committee, its leaders said.
The Democratic contingent in negotiations over U.S. crypto market structure got back into the talks over the bill, though they sought to keep details private.
It would be a mistake to see the incoming wave of aggressive APYs as the new baseline, according to Ron Tarter, CEO of MNEE. This is merely the promotional phase of stablecoins.
Armstrong told CNBC that his firm pulled support for a sweeping digital assets bill after finding provisions that could have harmed consumers and stifled competition.
A call is being planned to discuss the state of the legislation that's now been postponed in the Senate Banking Committee, sources say.
The digital assets crowd has been complaining bitterly about bank-lobbyist tactics, but Senate lawmakers have a much longer relationship with their bankers.
Delayed markups could give Congress time to resolve issues that may determine how, and whether, institutions fully enter U.S. crypto markets, broker Benchmark said.
The committee's Republican chairman, Tim Scott, had pushed for a quick process before it collapsed under the weigh of unfinished business.
CEO Brian Armstrong said there were "too many issues" with the bill.
Senator Tim Scott, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, told CoinDesk that he hopes to advance the crypto market structure bill, but some issues are unresolved.
The fight over stablecoin yield is less about protecting consumers and more about protecting banking incumbents, argues Bill Hughes, Senior Counsel and Director of Global Regulatory Matters for Consensys.
Allowing crypto exchanges and other intermediaries to offer yield-like incentives on payment stablecoins would pose significant risks to local economies, argues Kevin Paintner, chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America’s Digital Assets Subcommittee.
The Senate Agriculture Committee said Tuesday its postponed crypto market structure bill would drop on Jan. 21 and be debated six days later.
JPMorgan's Jeremy Barnum said the bank would compete with crypto offerings but warned that stablecoin yield products look like banks without the same regulation.
A partial draft of the Senate's legislation shows the bill remains blank on stablecoin rewards and has some protections for decentralized finance, but they're weaker than before.
Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced a standalone bill to press a key point on how blockchain software developers are treated, though crypto market structure observers await the big show.
Senate action on market structure legislation could end years of regulatory uncertainty, unlock institutional liquidity and re-rate crypto-linked stocks.
While Senator Cynthia Lummis hints about a circulating Banking Committee draft, the Agriculture Committee says it's still hoping for a bipartisan version.
The Senate Agriculture Committee has previously released a discussion draft of its market structure legislation.
Will we get this bill after all?
The bank said bipartisan Senate talks on market structure legislation and parallel GENIUS Act rulemaking could deliver a workable U.S. crypto framework by early 2026.
The Senate will not hold a market structure markup hearing this month, pushing any progress toward a new crypto law to next year.
While legislative language circulates among all four corners of the talks — industry, White House, Republicans and Democrats — the process is still mid-stride.
The White House has shut down proposals, and lawmakers are circulating the Democrats' asks in what had been a close negotiation, revealing 11th-hour pressure.
The Republican lawmaker who is among the core negotiators on the U.S. market structure bill said the White House has rejected some ethics language.
The bill brings Congress a step closer to firmly defining how the CFTC and SEC can oversee crypto.
Market structure legislation could still see movement this year, but likely won't become law before 2026.
The U.S. has the deepest liquidity in crypto markets and is home to some of the largest issuers and exchanges, but without a comprehensive market structure we risk ceding ground to Latin America and Europe, Congressman French Hill argues.