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Crypto journalist
Anas Hassan
Crypto journalist
Anas Hassan
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Democratic senators took aim at cryptocurrency CEOs during Thursday’s Capitol Hill meetings, with one lawmaker warning the executives to stop being “an offshoot of the Republican PartyWhen negotiations on the market structure bill reached a breaking point.
Instead of securing commitments or assurances, CEOs left with concerns that the legislation could drag on into next year.
This was reported by Politico “They all left with a commitment to continue working on this in a bipartisan way, but there was a marked difference in terms of the timeline,” noting that this year’s passage would require “miracle.”
Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott (R.S.C.) told industry leaders he wants the bill before Thanksgiving before his committee.
Cryptocurrency CEOs Face Guerrilla Battle When Bill Stalls Market Structure
But Democrats rejected the deadlines and demanded a joint, bipartisan design process that would give them real leverage.
During a morning meeting, Democratic senators criticized CEOs for the industry’s response to a leaked Democratic proposal to regulate decentralized finance (DeFi).
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) told executives he did “really fucking mad” on how leaked DeFi designs were handled and warned: “Don’t be part of the Republican Party.”
Frustration stems from Democrats’ DeFi Regulation Proposaldesigned to deal with illicit financial concerns, infiltrated lobbyists and the media, then publicly attacked industry officials.
The CEOs also met with GOP lawmakers, but reactions varied.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) believed that rushing the bill would create opposition and reversals under future administrations. “The worst thing we can do… is try to break through,” he said.
He warned that moving too quickly would lead to politics “designed for heroin addicts with a socket wrench.”
Cryptocurrency CEOs claim progress
However, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong he told CNBC the talks were “very productive” and called the recent meetings between the two sides a rare positive sign.
“There is strong bipartisan support to get this market structure legislation done. It’s important to America and the 15 million Americans involved in crypto.”
Armstrong approximately 90% claimed disputes have been resolved, with the “last 10 percent of issues” to be resolved once everyone gets together.
But behind closed doors, differences persist.
Some Democratic senators remained angry. Leaders, including Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, Mark Warner and Gallego, confronted industry figures about the backlash and leaks on Twitter and demanded real accountability.
Senator Cory Booker reportedly got the CEOs to support appointments of both parties to the SEC and CFTCa contentious issue given recent executive moves to undermine the agency’s independence.
Earlier this week, Chainlink CEO Sergey Nazarov acknowledged tensions rose but remained hopeful.
“Democrats were worried that the crypto industry was like an extension of the Republican Party… But I actually don’t think that’s the case,” Nazarov said.
At parallel meetings, Nazarov publicly stated that there had been “a sufficient degree of democratic support” with more than 10 senators actively involved and committed to shaping the final version.
Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott reportedly wants a markup before Thanksgiving, while Democrats have rejected a push for a deadline and are insisting on a bipartisan co-authorship process.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), a key supporter of the market structure initiative, also expressed confidence that Congress will pass the bill later this year.
Betting markets are pessimistic
Outside the Capitol, investors are losing confidence in cryptocurrencies. Polymarket punters now site chances of passing the CLARITY Act in 2025 to around 19%, down sharply from 87% earlier in the summer.
In addition, Digital Asset Market Cleanliness Act of 2025 passed the House on July 17 by a vote of 294-137.
The 236-page bill now moving through the Senate seeks to clearly resolve years of regulatory uncertainty separation of securities from commodities in the digital asset market.
Under this framework, digital assets in sufficiently decentralized networks would be overseen by the CFTC, while centralized or seed tokens would be classified as securities regulated by the SEC.
The bill tackles market manipulation, including laundering, spoofing, pump-and-dump schemes and insider trading, through explicit rules, stronger enforcement and structural safeguards.
