U.S. Senate Continues Deliberations on Crypto Market Structure Amid Government Shutdown

According to Cointelegraph, discussions regarding the digital asset market structure bill are ongoing in the U.S. Senate, despite the longest government shutdown in the nation's history. Republican Senator John Boozman, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is set to discuss the legislation with White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks and Democratic Senator Cory Booker. This conversation is part of efforts to finalize a discussion draft of the bill, which is anticipated to be a pivotal piece of legislation for the crypto industry during the current congressional session. Initially approved by the House of Representatives in July, the bill was expected to pass in the Senate with bipartisan support. However, the process has been complicated by Democratic demands for provisions concerning decentralized finance protocols and the ongoing government shutdown, which has reached its 36th day. It remains uncertain whether Senate lawmakers will prioritize crypto legislation over a funding bill needed to reopen the government and restore full operations to financial agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Following recent Democratic victories in Tuesday's elections, some senators, including Chris Murphy, have advocated for maintaining pressure on Republican lawmakers to support extending healthcare subsidies and reversing cuts from a July funding bill. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican, indicated that lawmakers have until early next year to pass the crypto legislation before the 2026 midterm elections complicate the process further. Meanwhile, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, a sponsor of the market structure bill, initially aimed to have the legislation signed into law by the end of the year, a goal now appearing less feasible due to the shutdown. At Ripple’s Swell conference in New York City, Patrick Witt, executive director of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, acknowledged that the government shutdown has introduced challenges to the market structure discussions. While the lack of meetings during the shutdown has allowed for increased engagement among lawmakers, the absence of technical expertise from furloughed agency staff has posed difficulties in evaluating the bill. Despite these hurdles, efforts continue at the staff level to secure the necessary votes in committee to advance the legislation.