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Weekly Crypto Regulation Roundup: Market Structure Stalls as Power Shifts From Congress to Regulators

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This week’s regulatory developments present a well-recognized actuality in Washington: there may be broad settlement that crypto wants guidelines, however little consensus on how these guidelines must be written or who ought to take the lead.

That rigidity was on full show as Senate Judiciary leaders Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin raised considerations over a provision in Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott’s crypto market construction invoice.

The language would exempt sure blockchain software program builders from monetary licensing necessities, a transfer lawmakers warned might weaken regulation enforcement’s capability to pursue cash laundering and different illicit monetary exercise.

In a private letter first reported by Politico, Grassley and Durbin argued that the availability falls squarely below the Judiciary Committee’s jurisdiction and famous that their panel was not consulted earlier than the markup was scheduled and later postponed.

The part carefully mirrors the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, a bipartisan proposal led by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden, however its inclusion has now develop into one other flashpoint in an already fragile legislative course of.

Market Structure Bill Slips Further Down the Agenda

Momentum behind the broader market construction invoice continues to sluggish. According to stories, the Senate Banking Committee has once more delayed work on the laws, pushing consideration to late February or March. Instead, lawmakers are shifting focus to housing laws following President Donald Trump’s renewed push on affordability.

The delay reinforces a rising concern inside the crypto business: regardless of years of debate, market construction reform stays weak to political reprioritization. What was as soon as positioned as pressing now dangers being sidelined by competing legislative priorities.

Partisan Cracks Begin to Show

While the Banking Committee hesitates, the Senate Agriculture Committee is transferring forward, even with out Democratic assist. Chair John Boozman has scheduled a markup for January 27, acknowledging that “variations stay on basic coverage points” however signaling a willingness to proceed regardless.

If handed, the transfer would mark a shift away from bipartisan consensus towards a extra partisan method, elevating questions in regards to the long-term sturdiness of any ensuing framework in a divided Congress.

Regulators Step In as Lawmakers Stall

As Congress struggles, regulators are more and more filling the hole. Newly appointed CFTC Chair Michael Selig this week declared the beginning of a “golden age” for U.S. monetary markets, launching a “Future-Proof” initiative meant to replace decades-old guidelines to replicate crypto, blockchain, and synthetic intelligence.

At the White House, Digital Asset Advisor Patrick Witt added strain from one other angle, urging swift passage of a market construction invoice. Pushing again towards claims that “no invoice is healthier than a foul invoice,” Witt warned that failure to act now might invite much more punitive laws below a future Democratic Congress, notably within the aftermath of a market disaster.

Enforcement Pulls Back—Coordination Moves Forward

Meanwhile, enforcement trends proceed to shift. A Cornerstone Research report discovered that SEC crypto enforcement actions fell 60% in 2025 following Paul Atkins’ appointment as chair, indicating a transfer away from regulation by enforcement and towards a extra focused deal with fraud.

That recalibration was strengthened this week as Atkins and Selig announced a joint event aimed toward regulatory harmonization between the SEC and CFTC, a symbolic however significant step towards lowering the jurisdictional confusion that has lengthy plagued U.S. crypto markets.

The Bigger Picture

Taken collectively, this week’s developments level to a transparent sample: legislative paralysis is pushing extra accountability onto regulators. Whether that leads to readability or additional fragmentation will rely on whether or not coordination can exchange congressional gridlock—and whether or not lawmakers can nonetheless reclaim management earlier than businesses set the foundations by default.

The put up Weekly Crypto Regulation Roundup: Market Structure Stalls as Power Shifts From Congress to Regulators appeared first on Cryptonews.

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