Crypto Market Structure Bill: Senator Lummis Predicts Key Markup Next Week
Washington's crypto winter could be thawing. A major piece of legislation is finally moving.
The Regulatory Sprint
Senator Cynthia Lummis just dropped a timeline that has the digital asset industry on high alert. Her long-awaited market structure bill is headed for a committee markup session. That's the critical step where lawmakers dissect, debate, and potentially reshape the proposal before a full vote.
For an industry used to operating in regulatory gray areas, this marks a pivotal shift. The bill aims to carve out clear rules of the road—defining what's a security, what's a commodity, and who gets to oversee the sprawling crypto ecosystem. It's the legislative equivalent of drawing a map for a territory that's been largely uncharted.
Why This Week Matters
Markup isn't just procedural theater. It's where the real political battles are fought. Amendments get tacked on, controversial sections get stripped out, and compromises are forged in real-time. The final text that emerges could look very different from the draft. For crypto firms, the details buried in those changes will dictate everything from compliance costs to their very ability to operate in the U.S. market.
The clock is ticking for Congress to act before the 2024 election cycle swallows all legislative oxygen. Next week's movement signals that key senators believe there's still a window—and the political will—to get something done.
The Stakes for Finance
Passing a coherent framework would be a watershed moment. It would provide the legal certainty that institutional capital has been waiting for, potentially unlocking a new wave of adoption. Conversely, a flawed or overly restrictive bill could stifle innovation and push development overseas. The outcome will signal whether the U.S. plans to lead the next era of finance or regulate itself into a backwater—a favorite pastime for Washington's financial architects, who often seem more interested in building moats than markets.
Get ready. The debate over crypto's future in America is moving from Twitter threads and conference stages to the heart of the Capitol. The markup gavel falling next week could be the sound that defines the industry for the next decade.
Senator Lummis hints at the finalization of the crypto market structure bill next week
Following concerns raised about the delay in the bill, the senator acknowledged that it was gradually progressing, as drafts underwent several alterations every few days during talks between the two parties.
For now, Lummis highlighted that her staff are worn out, referring to both Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s team and her team. Therefore, to effectively finalize a version of the bill, she suggested that it WOULD be best to let the team work on it next week and then grant everyone a break for Christmas to recharge.
“My goal […] is to share a draft at the end of this week that represents our best efforts so far and let the industry review it, along with Republicans and Democrats, before we go to markup next week,” the senator added.
Notably, a markup hearing is a specific type of congressional event in which a congressional committee or subcommittee debates, amends, and ultimately votes on proposed legislation before it is sent to the full House or Senate for a floor vote.
Although the banking committee had publicly shared the draft of the market structure bill in July this year, sources close to the situation mentioned that progress lagged following the approval of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act by the US House of Representatives.
These sources attempted to explain that the delay took place due to the longest government shutdown that occurred in the United States, and some lawmakers’ opposition to specific DeFi parts of the bill.
Several individuals anticipate that the crypto market structure bill will be beneficial to the market
A report from a reliable source, dated Monday, December 8, indicated that bipartisan talks regarding market structure are progressing, with plans for a markup scheduled to take place in December this year. This report aligns with Lummis’s September remarks, in which she predicted that the bill would be implemented as law in 2026.
However, even with this announcement, analysts raised concerns about whether the Republicans will abide by this timeline. They also highlighted that even if senators decided to MOVE forward with a markup, issues such as political disagreements could possibly delay the bill’s voting process.
To fully become a law, sources familiar with the situation mentioned that the bill still needs to go through both the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Senate Banking Committee. Nonetheless, several individuals in the crypto industry back Congress’s move to push this legislation forward. According to them, this legislation would promote clarity and benefit the market.
“More finance will shift on-chain under [SEC Chair Paul Atkins]’s leadership once Congress passes a market structure law,” stated Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, on Wednesday, December 10. “Our leaders must agree on the final details of the bill without any delays.”
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