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A committee vote on long-awaited cryptocurrency market structure legislation was postponed Wednesday evening after a late-night political debate between members and industry big names withdrawing their support for the critical CLARITY Act led to a delay.
The vote to pass the bill through the Senate Banking Committee was scheduled for Thursday.
Despite this setback, Senate President Tim Scott, R-S.C., remains optimistic that the bill will eventually cross the finish line. Congress’ top banking executive spoke to Fox News Digital before the vote was canceled, saying the Republican Party had worked hard to gain bipartisan support for the legislation in committee.
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The delay came after Coinbase withdrew its support due to privacy and market concerns, although Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott said the landmark crypto bill was still on track to pass. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via /Getty Images)
“We took 90 of the Democrats’ priorities and we filtered them,” Scott told Fox News Digital. “We really came to the conclusion that (the priorities are) overall good enough to be part of the process. So we took on board a lot of their comments and some of the issues that they were concerned about, we, as Republicans, were also concerned about things like AML, the whole money laundering issue being a priority for the Democrats.”
“But it’s also a priority for us because national security is very important to all of us,” Scott added. “Their priorities really hit the mark, and we were able to come up with stronger rules around AML, KYC, know your customer, BSA, things that they were really focused on.”
A key Senate vote on the CLARITY Act has been postponed after late-night debate and industry resistance. ( /iStock)
It wasn’t just bipartisanship that delayed the vote. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who runs the world’s largest crypto exchange, has withdrawn his support for the CLARITY Act “as written.”
Armstrong raised concerns that the bill would ban tokenized stocks, restrict DeFi while expanding government access to financial data and reducing privacy, weaken the CFTC in favor of the SEC, and eliminate stablecoin rewards in a way that allows banks to exclude crypto competition.
White House crypto czar David Sacks weighed in after the vote was postponed, saying the delay should be used by the industry to “resolve any remaining differences.”
“Enactment of market structure legislation remains as close as ever,” Sacks posted on X. “Now is the time to set the rules of the road and secure the future of this industry.”
Brian Armstrong, CEO and co-founder of Coinbase, posted on X to withdraw his support for the CLARITY Act. (David Swanson/Reuters Photos)
The White House remains committed to working with Scott, members of the Senate Banking Committee, and industry stakeholders to pass bipartisan crypto market structure legislation as soon as possible.
While the specific content of the legislation continues to be debated, there is broad consensus among money managers inside and outside the crypto space that federal intervention is essential not only for crypto’s success, but also to promote consumer protections.
“As new fringe industries develop and capital increases, you will have more need and more oversight from regulators,” Kyle Wool, CEO of Dominari Securities, told Fox News Digital. “These are not stifling regulations, but regulations designed to protect the ordinary investor to ensure a fair, honest and efficient market for all.”
President Donald Trump has said he wants to make America the crypto capital of the world. (Photo illustration/Getty Images)
“It also opens up the crypto market to a wider audience and therefore suits it more by increasing liquidity and having greater depth,” Wool added. “BlackRock IBIT is a perfect example.”
The regulations were passed last year when President Donald Trump signed the landmark GENIUS Act into law, but the Market Structure bill remains the most important piece of establishing a regulatory framework for the crypto industry as a whole.
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Scott told FOX Business he believes the CLARITY Act will become law before the midterm elections.
“President Trump and I have had a serious discussion about the importance of making 2026 the year of affordability,” Scott told Fox News Digital. “When you look at the structure of the market, the legislation itself, the one thing you can understand is that this is a generational shift towards affordability.”
“We’re talking about creating better access for the average family across the country at lower prices,” Scott added.
