Maxine Waters to Disrupt Crypto Hearing—Wall Street Braces for Another Regulatory Tango

House Financial Services Committee’s ranking member Maxine Waters plans to throw a wrench in this week’s crypto hearing—because what’s finance without a little drama?

Expect fireworks as Waters challenges pro-crypto narratives, backed by her track record of skepticism toward digital assets. The hearing could become a battleground for the soul of financial innovation—or just another stage for political theater.

Meanwhile, crypto markets shrug—because when has regulatory posturing ever stopped a bull run? (Answer: Never, but traditional finance will still charge you a 2% management fee to worry about it.)

Maxine Waters Hones In On Trump Crypto Connections

Hosted alongside the House Agriculture panel and titled American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets: A Blueprint for the 21st Century, the hearing is supposed to feature speakers such as Coinbase Product VP Greg Tusar, Former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Benham, and Hiro Systems CEO Alex Miller.

The hearing, which is scheduled to cover regulatory concerns around crypto market structure, requires unanimous consent by all committee members.

However, an anonymous staffer told Politico that Waters plans to walk out with several other Democrats and host a “shadow hearing” regarding U.S. President Donald Trump and his family’s ties to the crypto sector.

The crypto-oriented clash comes the same day that several key Republican lawmakers, including House Financial Service Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR), released an official discussion draft that would establish a sweeping regulatory framework for digital assets in the U.S.

Republicans and Democrats Divided Over Trump

“We made historic progress in the 118th Congress to build bipartisan, bicameral consensus in crafting a functional regulatory framework for digital assets,” Hill said in a May 5 statement.

“Our discussion draft builds upon that work and provides much-needed regulatory clarity for the digital asset ecosystem by protecting consumers and safeguarding the long-term integrity of digital asset markets in the United States,” he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been under growing scrutiny for his connections to the world of crypto in recent weeks, particularly amongst his Democratic opponents.

Trump is slated to hold a dinner gala later this month in Washington D.C. for top investors of his namesake meme coin, $TRUMP, sparking concerns over potential ethics violations.

“The American people deserve the unwavering assurance that access to the presidency is not being offered for sale to the highest bidder in exchange for the President’s own financial gain,” Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) said in a letter this month.

It remains to be seen just exactly how Tuesday’s hearing will go down – and which key lawmakers will or will not participate aside from Waters.