Sen. Tim Scott aims for December vote on crypto market bill

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott said he is pushing for a crypto market structure bill to be revised before the end of the year and delivered to US President Donald Trump’s desk soon after.

“Next month, we believe we can vote in both committees and bring this to the Senate early next year for President Trump to sign the legislation making America the crypto capital of the world,” Scott said in a recent statement. interview with Fox Business.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott pushes for increase in December (Source: Fox Business)

Scott added that the committee is in talks with Democrats and is trying to negotiate to reach an agreement. However, he accused the party’s senators of delaying efforts.

Lawmakers working on their own crypto market structure bills

Earlier this year in July, the House passed the CLARITY Act, which defines the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the crypto market.

The Senate is working on its own bill. Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee released a discussion draft on their section of the bill in July. They also suggested that their bill would merge with the CLARITY Act.

Meanwhile, in December, the Senate Agriculture Committee released its own discussion draft on November 10, leaving much of the bill to be amended.

The Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over the CFTC, while the Banking Committee oversees the SEC. The latter also leads the parts of the bill related to securities laws.

Democrats divided on crypto regulation

As US senators negotiate the bill’s language and debate its details, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, an outspoken crypto critic, continues to highlight President Trump’s conflict of interest, given his family’s ties to the digital assets industry and his push for pro-crypto policy in the United States.

Recently, the senator, alongside ally Senator Jack Reed, sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting information on reports that Trump-linked World Liberty Financial sold tokens to “North Korea, Russia, and other illicit actors.”

According to the senators, these sales, like highlighted by Accountable.us, “raise serious questions about WLF’s due diligence policies or procedures, including whether its tokens or other products enable sanctions evasion, money laundering, and terrorism financing.”

While Senator Warren’s resistance to crypto policy could further stall progress and spell disaster for the industry, a divide has begun to form among Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee over crypto policy.

While Warren maintains her position that the industry is too risky and that the president’s involvement constitutes a conflict of interest, other members continue to negotiate legislative language.

Chances are Bill’s markup will arrive in December, says Coinbase CEO

Despite resistance from Senator Warren and other Democrats, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in a recently posted video on X that he was in Washington, D.C., and “pushing for market structure legislation.” He also noted that there had been “a lot of progress.”

Armstrong says a lot of progress is being made (Source: X)

“The Senate Banks are also working nights and weekends to release the next iteration of their text, so we have a good chance, I think, of getting a markup for this bill in December,” Armstrong said.

“This would be an important step in unlocking crypto with clear rules in the United States, which would benefit all businesses,” he added.

Next steps for the CLARITY Act

The CLARITY Act is one of three major bills passed by the House in July after a 10-hour voting session. The other two laws are the GENIUS Act, which aims to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, and the Anti-CBDC Oversight Act, which bans central bank digital currencies.

Since the Senate is working on its own version of the CLARITY Act, the bill will have to return to the House for final approval if it passes the Senate. It will then need to be sent to Trump’s desk so it can be signed into law.

Currently, Republicans hold the majority in the Senate with 53 seats, while Democrats hold 47. Any bill will need 60 votes to pass.

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