US lawmakers face mounting obstacles in passing a comprehensive crypto market structure bill before the November midterm elections, as partisan gridlock and policy disputes stall progress in the Senate.
Although the House approved the CLARITY Act last summer and the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced a commodities-focused version, the Senate Banking Committee has yet to move forward on securities provisions after cancelling a January markup.
“It is not easy to get any sort of legislation through this Congress, and when it’s on a topic that most Americans honestly still find pretty obscure, it’s even harder. And it’s an election year,”
Said Saga co-founder and CEO, Rebecca Liao.
Liao said momentum behind digital asset legislation has cooled alongside softer crypto markets, adding that earlier urgency from traditional financial institutions has faded as price performance and political uncertainty weigh on sentiment.
Complicating negotiations is an ongoing debate over whether stablecoin holders should be allowed to receive yield through third-party platforms, an issue that has prompted three White House meetings between Trump administration officials and industry representatives.
Banking groups have argued that permitting yield payments could undermine existing financial structures, while some crypto advocates remain publicly optimistic that lawmakers can find a compromise despite limited detail on timelines.
With primary elections already underway in several states and the Senate scheduled for an August recess before returning just two months ahead of the vote, industry observers say the window for passing market structure legislation this year is narrowing rapidly.