This week marked a turning point in U.S. crypto regulatory oversight, with lawmakers, regulators, and industry executives all increasing their involvement in high-stakes debates over oversight, illicit financing, developer liability, and the structure of the U.S. digital asset market.
The most politically flammable development came from Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jack Reed, who called on the Justice Department and the US Treasury to open an investigation into World Liberty Financial, a Trump-linked crypto firm.
Their request followed a CNBC report detailing Accountable.US’ allegations that the company sold tokens to buyers with ties to North Korean hackers, Russia-linked networks and an Iranian crypto exchange.
In their letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the senators questioned why a crypto operation associated with Trump would accept funds from people allegedly linked to foreign adversaries and international money laundering platforms.
World Liberty Financial has denied any wrongdoing, but the allegations dramatically raise the stakes, melding national security concerns and partisan tensions. It also reflects how crypto companies with political affiliations will likely face increased scrutiny in the coming months.
While Democrats pushed for investigations, Republicans sought to advance basic legislation. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott said this week that he expects the committee to vote on long-awaited crypto market structure legislation in December.
Appearing on Fox Business, Scott argued that the bill would protect consumers while positioning the United States as the dominant global economic and crypto power over the next century.
Scott’s confidence shows new momentum, even as a similar promise made earlier this year went unfulfilled. He attributed the delays to hesitation among Democrats, suggesting that partisan divisions remain an obstacle to progress.
Still, if the committee manages to vote next month, the bill could reach the Senate in early 2026, potentially reshaping how exchanges, stablecoin issuers and digital asset brokers are regulated.
The White House and industry groups have pushed for legislative clarity, making this one of the most consequential potential votes in years.
The week also saw one of the most significant coordinated policy efforts from the US crypto industry since Trump returned to power. More than sixty-five organizations, including major advocacy groups, DeFi developers, investors, and research organizations, signed a letter urging the president to drop charges against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm.
The coalition argued that suing Storm for creating open source privacy software threatens the broader software ecosystem and risks criminalizing the code rather than the conduct. Their message was clear: Holding developers accountable for how outsiders use their tools would set a dangerous precedent and undermine America’s standing on privacy-friendly innovation.
The industry letter also praised the administration’s recent pro-crypto changes, including rolling back restrictions on digital assets in retirement accounts and rescinding the IRS’ broker-dealer reporting rule.
Additionally, he warned that pursuing the Storm case would contradict the administration’s stated support for innovation.
The dispute shows how far the debate between privacy and surveillance has penetrated federal policy and why the Storm lawsuits represent a defining legal moment for the industry.
Institutional change also advanced, with President Trump’s nominee to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Michael Selig, leaving the Senate Agriculture Committee after a close vote. His nomination now goes to the full Senate for a decision that will be closely watched across the crypto industry.
The CFTC is expected to benefit from expanded authority over the crypto spot market, especially as Congress moves forward with passing market structure legislation. During his nomination hearing, Selig faced pointed questions about whether the agency has the resources to effectively regulate digital assets.
With only about five hundred full-time employees – compared to more than four thousand at the SEC – concerns about staffing and enforcement capacity were concerning.
Selig avoided committing to a request for increased funding before confirmation, but his appointment comes at a time of major internal transition. The expected departure of Commissioner Caroline Pham adds even more uncertainty, introducing volatility into an agency that could soon take on far greater responsibility in the crypto regulatory ecosystem.
To close out the week, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced an important policy event: a Crypto Task Force roundtable on financial oversight and privacy scheduled for December 15 at SEC headquarters in Washington, DC.
The event will bring together regulators, policymakers, legal experts and industry representatives for a focused discussion on the tension between privacy-preserving technologies and the federal government’s growing focus on blockchain analysis, transaction monitoring and illicit financing controls.
The roundtable aims to explore how stablecoin issuers, exchanges, and DeFi platforms should approach expectations for handling user data and compliance, at a time when federal oversight is intensifying.
The SEC plans to webcast the event, and while the agenda has not yet been released, the schedule indicates that oversight, privacy, and oversight obligations are quickly becoming central themes in the agency’s digital assets agenda. The discussion is likely to influence future directions and application.
What emerges from this week is a picture of a Washington that is no longer cautious or fragmented in its approach to digital assets. Instead, lawmakers in both parties are making bold demands, major changes in regulatory leadership are underway, and industry groups are mounting increasingly coordinated political campaigns.
The interplay between national security, technological innovation, developer accountability, and market structure is reshaping the terrain of U.S. crypto policy.
As 2025 approaches, the United States is preparing for a regulatory environment defined by tighter oversight, faster legislative evolution, and a broader willingness to intervene in the evolution of digital finance.
Read original story Weekly Crypto Regulation Roundup: Washington Tightens Its Grip on Digital Assets as Political, Legal Battles Intensify By Tanzeel Akhtar on Cryptonews.com
