Senator Shelves Card Fee Fight to Save Crypto Bill From Collapse – Will It Pass Now?
Senator Roger Marshall has agreed not to provide a controversial bank card swipe charge modification throughout Thursday’s Senate Agriculture Committee markup of landmark crypto legislation, eradicating a serious impediment that threatened to derail the invoice’s passage.
The Kansas Republican filed the modification final week searching for to drive fee networks to compete on swipe charges, mirroring his longstanding Credit Card Competition Act co-sponsored with Senator Dick Durbin.
However, Marshall agreed in personal Saturday conversations not to name up the supply, which had pitted the finance business towards main retailers and jeopardized help from Republicans anticipated to again the underlying digital asset laws, in accordance to Politico.
White House Clears Internal Obstacle as External Threats Mount
White House officers grew to become immediately concerned in stopping the modification’s consideration, with one supply confirming the Marshall provision would have “jeopardized” passage of the crypto invoice the administration is urgent to advance by committee.
Durbin, who co-sponsored the bank card measure alongside Senator Peter Welch, will not be at present anticipated to provide the modification on the markup, although no closing choice has been made.
While the bank card dispute now seems resolved, the Thursday markup faces a doubtlessly extra critical risk from Washington’s looming price range disaster.
Congress is racing towards a partial government shutdown deadline this weekend, with Senate Democrats blocking a $1.3 trillion appropriations bundle following a lethal Minneapolis capturing by a Border Patrol agent.
The standoff threatens to furlough lots of of 1000’s of federal staff and will disrupt the legislative calendar simply as crypto laws reaches a important juncture.
Former Utah Governor Gary Herbert called the shutdown risk proof of “a scarcity of management, a scarcity of capacity to work collectively.“
Agriculture Bill Advances Despite Partisan Fractures and Timing Risks
Despite these challenges, the Agriculture Committee’s markup represents the primary formal Senate vote on complete laws to reform the crypto market construction after months of delays throughout a number of committees.
The invoice would broaden the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s authority over digital commodities, together with Bitcoin, although Chairman John Boozman launched the textual content with out securing Democratic help after bipartisan negotiations collapsed.
“Although it’s unlucky that we couldn’t attain an settlement, I’m grateful for the collaboration that has made this laws higher,” Boozman mentioned, acknowledging that “variations stay on basic coverage points.“
Senate Agriculture Committee advances crypto invoice for January 27 markup with out Democratic help as Banking delays CLARITY Act over stablecoin disputes.#ClarityAct #Stablecoinhttps://t.co/Wjz1vpYh5d
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) January 22, 2026
The committee’s choice to proceed displays rising urgency as different legislative paths have stalled.
The Agriculture Committee’s laws has grow to be the first automobile for crypto regulation after the Senate Banking Committee postponed its parallel CLARITY Act till late February or March, as a substitute pivoting to housing laws following President Trump’s affordability push.
Banking’s invoice stalled after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew help over restrictions on tokenized equities and stablecoin rewards, calling sure provisions “catastrophic.”
Trump Pushes for Passage as Democrats Demand Ethics Guardrails
President Trump confirmed at Davos that he expects to signal crypto market construction laws “very quickly,” stating his administration is working to guarantee “America stays the crypto capital of the world.“
His public strain comes as Democratic opposition has intensified over ethics issues, with Senator Adam Schiff demanding controls overlaying the White House and Senator Ruben Gallego calling ethics guardrails “a crimson line.“
Beyond partisan divisions, the Thursday markup should navigate the identical price range disaster threatening to shut down components of the federal authorities.
If Congress fails to move the appropriations bundle by Saturday, companies together with DHS and the Pentagon would enter shutdown mode, doubtlessly delaying legislative enterprise and forcing senators to prioritize price range negotiations over crypto regulation.
Patrick Witt, White House Executive Director of the President’s Crypto Council, has urged instant passage regardless of imperfect provisions, warning that delays threat “punitive laws within the wake of a disaster, à la Dodd-Frank” beneath future Democratic management.
“You may not love each a part of the CLARITY Act, however I can assure you’ll hate a future Dem model much more,” Witt wrote.
Earlier this month, Investment financial institution TD Cowen additionally warned the laws might slip to 2027 as lawmakers place for midterm elections, with full implementation doubtlessly delayed till 2029.
The mixture of shutdown dangers, partisan ethics disputes, and electoral timing creates a slender window for passage that Thursday’s markup could symbolize the business’s finest alternative to safe regulatory readability earlier than political situations deteriorate additional.
The submit Senator Shelves Card Fee Fight to Save Crypto Bill From Collapse – Will It Pass Now? appeared first on Cryptonews.
