US Lawmakers Advance Crypto Regulation as Bipartisan Talks Collapse

While one Senate panel is charging ahead, another remains stuck in political gridlock – and the divide could shape the future of US crypto oversight.

Key Takeaways

• The Senate Agriculture Committee is advancing a crypto market bill without bipartisan backing.
• The draft strengthens CFTC oversight and aims to clarify crypto market rules.
• Parallel efforts in the Senate Banking Committee remain stalled and delayed.

A Bill Moves Forward as Talks Break Down

The Senate Agriculture Committee is preparing to vote on a revised digital asset market bill next week, despite failing to secure Democratic backing. The markup, scheduled for January 27, will consider a draft that emerged after weeks of negotiations ended without compromise.

Rather than pause the process, committee leadership opted to proceed, arguing that further delays would only prolong regulatory uncertainty across the crypto industry.

Chairman John Boozman acknowledged that bipartisan agreement proved elusive, but said the legislation had already benefited from months of discussion. From his perspective, advancing the bill now is preferable to waiting indefinitely for consensus that may never arrive.

Different Committees, Different Strategies

The Agriculture Committee’s approach stands in sharp contrast to the Senate Banking Committee, which has yet to move its own crypto market proposal forward. According to reporting from Eleanor Terrett, negotiations on the Agriculture bill effectively stalled weeks ago, prompting Republicans to push ahead on their own.

Banking Committee lawmakers, however, remain reluctant to advance a partisan bill. Their draft has become entangled in disputes over stablecoin design, particularly whether issuers should be allowed to generate yield for users. That disagreement has slowed progress to a crawl.

Attention Shifts Away From Crypto

Complicating matters further, the Banking Committee is increasingly focused on other policy priorities. Lawmakers are reportedly redirecting their efforts toward housing initiatives tied to President Trump’s agenda, raising the possibility that crypto legislation from that panel may not reach a markup until late March.

This divergence has left the Agriculture Committee as the de facto driver of crypto market structure legislation in the Senate – at least for now.

What the Agriculture Proposal Actually Does

At its core, the Agriculture Committee bill seeks to reshape oversight of digital asset markets by expanding the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The draft lays out a federal framework for how crypto platforms register, operate, and comply with US law.

A major component of the proposal relies on definitions established under the CLARITY Act. Those definitions are meant to end years of regulatory confusion by clearly separating which digital assets fall under the jurisdiction of the CFTC and which remain the responsibility of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Support From the White House Adds Urgency

The bill’s momentum has also been shaped by signals from the White House. After reports surfaced suggesting federal support for the legislation was weakening, administration officials urged lawmakers to accelerate progress.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Donald Trump said Senate leaders were actively working to finalize crypto market rules. He added that he wants the legislation on his desk soon, framing it as a gateway to expanding financial innovation and capital access in the United States.

Whether the partisan approach succeeds remains uncertain. But with one committee moving and another stalled, the Senate’s crypto strategy is now unfolding along two very different paths.

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