The Senate advances toward a decision on market structure: Crypto Update

Senate Committees Prepare for Critical Crypto Legislation Hearings

Next week, one or both Senate committees focused on cryptocurrency market regulations are expected to conduct significant hearings and votes regarding new legislation.

This article is part of State of Crypto, CoinDesk’s newsletter exploring the intersection of digital assets and government policy.

Approaching a Pivotal Vote

Overview

The upcoming week promises to be eventful. Senators Tim Scott and John Boozman, who chair the Banking and Agriculture Committees, are planning to hold markup sessions and votes on crypto market structure bills. Meanwhile, lawmakers are still negotiating crucial aspects of the proposed legislation.

Significance

The digital asset sector has spent the past year striving to see comprehensive crypto market structure laws enacted. Progress was delayed last year due to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. However, as 2025 ended, the White House announced that a markup would take place in January 2026. That time has now arrived.

Details and Developments

Late Friday, the Senate Banking Committee confirmed it would hold a markup session and vote on its version of the crypto bill on Thursday, January 15. The Senate Agriculture Committee is also expected to meet that day, though a formal announcement may not come until Wednesday due to committee procedures.

As of now, updated drafts of the bills have not been released. The Banking Committee intends to share its revised text on Monday, with amendments due by Tuesday. The Agriculture Committee continues to refine its draft, addressing concerns raised by Democratic members, according to sources familiar with the process.

Several scenarios could unfold next week. Here are some possible outcomes:

• Lawmakers from both parties could reach a consensus, resulting in a smooth markup and bipartisan approval.
• Most negotiators’ priorities are met, leading to some debate but ultimately a bipartisan vote to advance the bill.
• While most demands are addressed, the markup could still be contentious and drawn out.
• If little progress is made beyond last week’s discussions, the markup could become especially heated.
• Negotiations could stall completely over major disagreements, such as whether President Donald Trump’s family can benefit from crypto interests or if regulatory agencies should be led by partisan commissions, causing the markup to be postponed.

Additional Possibilities and Challenges

Other outcomes are also possible. With Republicans holding the Senate majority, they could move the bill forward in the Banking Committee with only their party’s support. However, this approach would make it harder to pass the bill in the full Senate, where at least 60 votes are needed—requiring support from at least seven Democrats. Thus, a bipartisan agreement remains the most straightforward path to passage.

Key unresolved issues include Democratic concerns about ethics, the regulation of decentralized finance (DeFi), how yield will be handled, and whether the president will appoint bipartisan leaders to oversee crypto regulatory agencies.

Adding to the complexity, the crypto industry continues to advocate for developer protections and is urging lawmakers not to alter provisions related to stablecoin yields.

Further Reading

Upcoming Events

Thursday

• The Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees are both set to hold markup hearings and votes on their respective crypto market structure bills. The Banking Committee’s session is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. ET.

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See you next week!