Senator Lummis Pushes for Crypto Market Structure Markup Next Week, Admits Staff Are Exhausted

Washington's crypto stalwart is pushing for a breakthrough—and hitting a wall of legislative fatigue.

Senator Cynthia Lummis is making a final push to get her landmark crypto market structure bill to a committee vote. The move comes after months of negotiations, stalled progress, and now, a frank admission: her team is running on fumes.

The Final Sprint

Lummis is aiming to schedule the crucial "markup" session for next week. This procedural step would allow the Senate committee to debate, amend, and ultimately vote on the proposal before it can advance to the full chamber. It's the legislative equivalent of a last-minute rally.

Regulatory Clarity or Regulatory Gridlock?

The proposed framework seeks to finally answer the trillion-dollar question: which digital assets are commodities and which are securities? It aims to carve out clear roles for the CFTC and SEC, potentially unlocking a new wave of institutional investment. Yet, the path forward is littered with partisan hurdles and bureaucratic skepticism.

Opponents view the bill as a handout to a volatile industry. Proponents see it as the essential groundwork for American financial leadership. The exhausted staff in the middle just see another all-nighter.

The Human Cost of Policy

Lummis's candid remark about her drained team underscores the grueling, behind-the-scenes grind of lawmaking. It's a world of endless drafts, stakeholder calls, and political maneuvering—far removed from the glamour of trading floor rallies and ATH celebrations. For every moon-shot prediction, there's a policy aide burning the midnight oil.

Will next week finally deliver the clarity the market craves? Or will it just be another chapter in Washington's favorite pastime: kicking the can down the road while collecting consultant fees? The clock is ticking, and the staff's coffee supply is dwindling.

A markup hearing would allow senators to amend the legislation before sending it to the full Senate. Also, Lummis said in September that she expected the bill to be signed into law by 2026.

Crypto Bill Stalls in Senate as Lawmakers Restart Negotiations

Her push comes after the House passed its own bill, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, in July. Since then, it has been waiting in the Senate for the next round of action.

GENIUS Act, Anti-CBDC Act, and CLARITY Act pass crucial procedural vote 215-211 in Congress after Trump's decisive Oval Office intervention rescues stalled crypto agenda.#GeniusAct #Trumphttps://t.co/Lm2tCBbimp

The House legislation, formally introduced in May by Chairman French Hill, gives the Commodity Futures Trading Commission primary oversight of digital commodities while preserving the Securities and Exchange Commission’s authority over fundraising and token issuance.

The Senate Banking Committee has been developing its own version of a market structure framework, but progress stalled after the record-setting government shutdown and disagreements over how decentralized finance should be regulated.

Senate introduces new Crypto Market Structure Bill draft to expand @CFTC authority over digital commodities like $BTC and $ETH.

#ClarityAct #CFTChttps://t.co/qKO9rR7aYs

Although senators released a discussion draft in July, the shutdown and the backlog that followed pushed talks deeper into the fall.

A report from Politico on Monday indicated that bipartisan negotiations had picked up again, with plans to hold a markup in December. That aligns with Senator Cynthia Lummis’ push to keep the timeline on track.

However, not everyone is pleased with how slow things have been moving. At the same policy event on Monday, Senator Bernie Moreno said the process had become “decently frustrating,” adding that he would rather see no bill at all than one that leaves major regulatory gaps untouched.

Sen. Moreno warns U.S. lawmakers: “No deal is better than a bad deal.” U.S. crypto legislation may be delayed

#Regulation #CLARITYActhttps://t.co/Z9QlO4yiD4

He plans to meet with Democratic lawmakers this week in an effort to break the stalemate.

Lawmakers Race Clock as Crypto Bill Risks Election-Year Freeze

Earlier this year, Congress managed to push a stablecoin bill through with support from both parties, but the broader market structure package has been a far tougher lift.

One point of tension lies in how the House and Senate drafts define which tokens should not be regulated as securities.

The Senate version uses the term “ancillary assets,” while the Agriculture Committee’s proposal expands the CFTC’s authority instead. Both drafts still need markups, revisions, and formal votes before they can MOVE forward.

There was a brief moment of Optimism last week when Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott said a markup could take place on December 17 or 18.

But Senator Mark Warner suggested that wrapping everything up before the holiday recess would be difficult, noting that the WHITE House still hadn’t provided final language on quorum and ethics rules.

The pressure to move faster is rising. Senator Thom Tillis warned that if negotiations drift into February, the bill could get stuck for the rest of the year once the election cycle takes over.

@SenThomTillis has said Congress has until February to move the US Crypto Bill forward before election politics slow progress. #ClarityAct #USCongress #MarketStructurehttps://t.co/LwL7ZwiOje

That sense of urgency has only increased since the 43-day shutdown ended on November 13, leaving several crypto-focused bills, including the CLARITY Act, waiting for attention.