Several senators were absent from a key “bipartisan” hearing on crypto market structure, raising questions about legislative momentum and industry oversight.
Out of the 11 US senators who typically serve on the subcommittee on digital assets, only five were available to answer questions regarding a possible law about market structure.
At a hearing on market structure, many members of the US Senate Banking Committee’s subcommittee on digital assets were absent.
Cynthia Lummis, the subcommittee chair, stated during a Tuesday hearing on “exploring bipartisan legislative frameworks for digital asset market structure” that there had been “a lot of competing committees” on the agenda for the day. This contributed to the fact that only five senators out of the 11 who usually comprise the subcommittee were available to question former regulators and industry experts.
Along with Senator Angela Alsobrooks, Republican senators Dave McCormick, Bill Hagerty, and Bernie Moreno questioned former US Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Behnam, Coinbase’s vice president of legal Ryan VanGrack, General Counsel Greg Xethalis of Multicoin Capital, and Sarah Hammer, Executive Director of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.
Following the successful approval of the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin measure, the lawmakers asked the experts about the underlying principles of the Senate’s possible presentation of legislation to construct a crypto market structure bill. Lummis stated that she didn’t “want to come up with a piece of legislation that the other side of the aisle feels they haven’t had adequate input in,” thus acknowledging the lack of participation in the hearing.
Regarding bipartisan participation in crypto legislation, Lummis remarked, “I don’t understand what’s changed, at least about this topic.” ” Now, I see what occurs when a group of leaders aren’t using digital assets, and then an administration with family members using them takes over, and that’s what this is about. Perhaps this stems from worries that some individuals who have relatives in the government would benefit in some way from our actions.
The only Democratic legislator who attended the meeting, Alsobrooks, was not a regular panel member and seemed to be filling in for Ruben Gallego, the ranking member. She supported the modified bill and was a co-sponsor of the original GENIUS Act.
Is explicitness for digital assets coming from the Senate or the House?
Although neither he nor Lummis specifically named US President Donald Trump when discussing potential conflicts of interest with the crypto market structure or stablecoin laws, Moreno also questioned why the proposed legislation seemed a politicized issue for many senators.
Though some have indicated that they will continue to oppose legislation without a carve-out to address the president’s links to the crypto business, many Democrats in the Senate previously voted with Republicans to pass the GENIUS Act on June 17.
Following attempts in the House of Representatives to enact its bill, the Digital Asset Market Clarity, or CLARITY Act, the Senate is also considering market structure legislation. The bill passed out of committee in June, and a floor vote is anticipated shortly.
