State of Crypto: Trying to figure out the market structure bill's prognosis

State of Crypto: Trying to figure out the market structure bill's prognosis Will we get this bill after all? There were no markup hearings this past week on market structure legislation. Lawmakers are still holding their firm positions close to the vest. The question is changing from "will we get a market structure law this year" to "will Congress have enough time to push this bill across the finish line?" Senator Tim Scott (Jesse Hamilton/Modified by CoinDesk) You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to sign up for future editions. Further slippage The narrative The Senate Banking Committee revealed this week that it would not be holding a markup hearing on its draft market structure legislation, confirming what many had suspected - that lawmakers just did not have enough time to get this bill over the finish line this year. Why it matters The market structure bill slipping further to 2026 makes it that much more likely it just might not pass at all. For it to become law, lawmakers will need to hit the ground running after the holiday break and try to get through the entire process before they take off for the 2026 midterm election. During that time, they'll need to navigate another potential government shutdown, the complication that the market structure bill has two parts coming from two different committees and deal with the fact that the various sides are further entrenching themselves, according to multiple individuals tracking the process. Breaking it down The Senate Banking Committee hoped to hold a hearing of some sort - if not an actual markup - by the end of last week, but this past Monday Chairman Tim Scott's office put out a statement confirming this wouldn't happen and saying he was looking forward to further collaboration in 2026. "From the outset, Chairman Scott has been clear that this effort should be bipartisan," a spokesperson for the committee said in a statement. "He has consistently and patiently engaged in good-faith discussions to produce a strong bipartisan product that provides clarity for the digital asset industry and also makes America the crypto capital of the world. The Committee is continuing to negotiate and looks forward to a markup in early 2026." There are a few major sticking points, as described to CoinDesk by four individuals who are following the process: how decentralized finance (DeFi) might be defined and regulated; how stablecoin yield should be treated; whether major regulatory agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission or Commodity Futures Trading Commission will be staffed by a bipartisan slate of commissioners; and whether lawmakers can bind President Donald Trump to any sort of ethics agreement. These aren't just political issues for lawmakers alone to hash out; some of them, like how DeFi is regulated, have technical ramifications for parts of the broader crypto industry, and a poor definition of "decentralization" could be difficult to amend in a future law. These also aren't...

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