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Live updates: Senate Agriculture Committee moves forward with legislation on cryptocurrency market framework.
The Senate Agriculture Committee convened a markup hearing regarding legislation on crypto market structure.
U.S. Capitol building (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)
Key points:
- The Senate Agriculture Committee is conducting a markup hearing on legislation concerning crypto market structure, allowing lawmakers to deliberate on amendments to the foundational text. They will ultimately cast their votes on the bill at the conclusion of the hearing.
- CoinDesk is offering live updates on the proceedings as they unfold through Thursday.
- During opening statements, Democrats urged Committee Chairman John Boozman to endorse a more bipartisan approach, emphasizing that both parties are interested in supporting the legislation.
The U.S. Senate’s Agriculture Committee is conducting its inaugural markup hearing on crypto market structure legislation, enabling lawmakers to discuss and vote on amendments, potentially advancing the actual bill.
ND (11:30 a.m. ET): Following less than an hour of discussion and just a few amendments, the Senate Agriculture Committee voted to forward its market structure legislation to the full Senate along party lines (12 lawmakers in favor, 11 opposed). Attention now shifts back to the Senate Banking Committee, which delayed its own markup hearing earlier this month and has not yet scheduled a new date.
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ND (11:28 a.m. ET): So far during Thursday’s hearing, the crypto markets have not been addressed, despite experiencing significant declines of between 4% and 7% in the last 24 hours of trading. At the time of reporting, Bitcoin was trading around $84,000.
JH (11:24 a.m. ET): We transitioned from Democratic amendments to a Republican proposal aimed at preventing foreign adversaries from interfering in U.S. crypto markets. Senator Tommy Tuberville advocated for the amendment “to ensure our digital markets remain uncompromised by our adversaries.”
However, Tuberville agreed to withdraw his amendments with the understanding of “what we’re aiming to achieve today,” indicating that the concepts could be revisited later.
ND (11:22 a.m. ET): Further comments from Booker earlier:
“What I and many of my colleagues from both sides see is that we are on the brink of remarkable humanitarian breakthroughs that could provide Americans with a financial system that is faster, less expensive, and more inclusive,” he stated. “I’ve witnessed in my own community how the current system often disadvantages customers, limiting their access to financial markets. There is a democratizing force, or at least potential, that is sweeping across our nation and around the globe.”
Senator Adam Schiff from California also noted that Democrats have established a working group to support crypto legislation, comparing crypto to artificial intelligence: “We want to retain these jobs. We want this industry to remain in the United States, which necessitates that we have established rules rather than relying on litigation to make decisions.”
However, he anticipated that the bill would proceed along party lines due to the partisan nature of the legislation, he remarked.
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JH (11:17 a.m. ET): The initial Democratic amendments were defeated, as expected, in party-line votes, including a prominent issue targeting President Donald Trump’s crypto business interests.
The discussions have remained amicable thus far today, with Democrats mildly accusing Republicans of abandoning negotiations and Republicans suggesting that differences may be resolved at a later stage.
ND (11:14 a.m. ET): The second amendment proposed, this time by Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, sought to prevent the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department from “offering digital commodity intermediaries a taxpayer-funded bailout” in the event of banking collapses, referencing Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Bank, and Signature Bank.
Boozman stated that “nothing in the bill would empower the CFTC” to provide bankruptcy assistance, deeming the amendment “unnecessary.”
The amendment was rejected with a vote of 11-12 along party lines.
ND (11:08 a.m. ET): The first amendment, introduced by Senator Michael Bennett, a Democrat from Colorado, addressed concerns regarding President Donald Trump’s financial gains from his family’s various crypto interests and businesses.
“I believe this issue is at the heart of our democracy,” Bennett asserted. “This amendment is not specifically about crypto or even about President Trump. It’s about restoring a system of governance and ethics that we believe the American people deserve.”
Boozman expressed his opposition to the amendment, arguing that it “overstepped” the Agriculture Committee’s jurisdiction.
The amendment was ultimately defeated with a vote of 11-12 along party lines.
ND (10:56 a.m. ET): The Thursday hearing will feature lawmakers proposing amendments on the foundational text that the committee released last week. While the Senators have been working on bipartisan legislation, Committee Chairman John Boozman commented last week that “fundamental policy differences” still exist, and that the committee members have not yet reached a consensus on the published text.
Senator Cory Booker, the Democratic lead in negotiations on the bill, mentioned in his opening remarks that lawmakers are nearing an agreement on crucial issues, highlighting the concerns regarding President Donald Trump and his family’s crypto connections as one unresolved matter, along with the lack of a definitive agreement on quorum at federal agencies.
“In football terms, we’ve advanced from our own goal line all the way down 70 yards. We’re almost in the red zone on this bill, and it frustrates me because I can see a bipartisan path to successfully finalize this legislation,” Booker stated.
Boozman, during his opening remarks, acknowledged that lawmakers have made “significant progress” in drafting the bill.
“Advancing this bill is a crucial first step, and there are numerous steps ahead to accomplish those objectives,” he remarked. “I also urge the administration and Senate leadership to collaborate and ensure that the CFTC is fully constituted and sufficiently funded.”
