As crucial crypto-related legislation advances in the US Congress, lawmakers are evaluating introducing a digital assets market structure bill in the Senate in the coming weeks, which could add “another layer of complexity” to the uncertain surrounding digital assets legislation in the US.
US Senate To Introduce Crypto Market Structure Bill
The US Senate Banking Committee will hold a subcommittee hearing next week on a potential crypto market reform. The hearing, named “Exploring Bipartisan Legislative Frameworks for Digital Asset Market Structure,” is scheduled for Tuesday, June 24, and will be led by Senator Cynthia Lummis.
Journalist and podcast host Eleanor Terret reported that lawmakers are working on principles for the Senate’s version of a crypto market structure bill, which will be the focus of the upcoming hearing.
Subcommittee hearing scheduled for June 24. Source: Senate Banking Committee
Terret shared that Republican Senator Tim Scott recently told her, “He’s hoping to hold a full committee hearing within the next month,” which would likely follow the release of a discussion draft.
The news follows the uncertainty surrounding the House of Representatives’ version of the crypto market structure legislation. A Tuesday report from Unchained claims that US President Donald Trump’s goal of passing the market structure bill by the August recess is in “serious jeopardy.”
According to the report, a spokesperson for Senator Scott, who is Chair of the Senate Banking Committee, said in an email that a markup session for the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act of 2025 will not happen until the fall, despite the senator’s plan to hold a hearing session on the legislation in July.
Notably, the bill passed both the House Financial Services and House Agriculture Committees’ markups last week with bipartisan support, advancing to the full House floor vote.
However, negotiations over the language used in the bill have reportedly hit a wall, as bipartisan lawmakers have proposed standard language to address Democrats’ concerns about potential conflicts of interest by the President, Vice President, Congress Members, and their families, which the White House allegedly pushed back.
Terret noted that the introduction of the Senate’s version of the bill would add another layer of complexity as two separate legislative texts would be moving through four different Congressional committees.
Stablecoin Legislation Could Face Challenges
Meanwhile, the Senate passed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act in a 68-30 vote on Tuesday afternoon. The bill, now headed to the House, is also expected to face some uncertainty in Congress’s lower chamber.
The bill, introduced by Republican Senator Bill Hagerty in February, aims to develop a framework for stablecoins to fall under the Federal Reserve Rules, establishing a “safe and pro-growth” regulatory framework to advance innovation.
According to Terret, the bill faces multiple challenges, including having to reconcile with the House’s version of the bill, the STABLE Act, and having some House leaders “pushing to package the stablecoin framework with some version of the CLARITY Act,” as it could allegedly improve the odds of both bills clearing Congress before the August deadline.
Speaking off the record, a House lawmaker told Terret that advancing both bills is a priority, as passing just the GENIUS Act without the market structure bill could slow broader crypto legislation.
“I just don’t buy the idea that passing one builds momentum for the other,” the congress member affirmed. Nonetheless, lawmakers remain optimistic about the odds of both crypto bills passing in the coming months.
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