Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott Targets Year-End Vote on U.S. Crypto Bill

Senator Tim Scott, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said on Tuesday that he hopes to have the committee vote on the U.S. crypto market structure bill next month.

Speaking to Fox Business’ Mornings with Marla, the Senator said that he believes that the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees can mark up and vote on the bill “by the end of the year”, before getting it to the floor of the Senate early next year so that President Donald Trump can sign the legislation into law.

Sen. Tim Scott Pushes Democrats to Support Crypto Market Structure Bill, Believes the Bill Can Become Law in Early 2026

The crypto market structure bill requires approval from both Senate committees, as they handle both securities and commodities regulations. The Banking Committee deals with securities, while commodities fall under the Banking group’s jurisdiction.

Scott said the legislation aims to protect consumers while cementing America’s market dominance and position as the world’s most powerful economy for the next century.

The senator had been pushing to pass the bill by September of this year, but was unsuccessful in his attempts. He blamed the Democrats for stalling any progress on it, claiming that the opposition does not want “President Trump to make America the crypto capital of the world”.

He could advance the bill out of committee if he receives unanimous support from Senate Republicans, but some senior party members, like Sen. John Kennedy, said at the time that lawmakers should not rush to advance it.

Scott is trying to win support from Senate Democrats who have signalled interest in cutting a deal to get the legislation across. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Mark Warner, and Ruben Gallego have been negotiating with the Banking Committee chair’s team on the crypto market structure bill in recent weeks.

The bill will need bipartisan backing to pass on the Senate floor.

A staffer for Sen. Gallego said in a follow-up statement that Democrats and Republicans alike have been “working tirelessly” on the issue, and taking the time necessary to produce a “strong, bipartisan” product is not “stalling”. The spokesperson noted that implying that Democrats don’t want to get it done “isn’t productive”.

The Republican-led Senate Banking Committee is seeking to delineate jurisdiction between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), while creating a regime to clarify which cryptocurrencies qualify as securities and which don’t. Crypto assets classified as commodities will fall under the jurisdiction of the Senate Agriculture Committee and will be overseen by the CFTC, while securities assets will be handled by the Banking Committee and the SEC.

Leaked Democrat Proposal Focused on Banning DeFi. Lawmakers Hold Discussions With Industry Players

Amid the ongoing discussions, a leaked proposal document from Senate Democrats hinted at a focus on decentralized finance (DeFi), tasking the Department of the Treasury and other financial regulators with defining when an entity or person “exercises control or sufficient influence” over a crypto project. However, this six-page draft drew heavy criticism from industry players, with many arguing that the Democrats’ proposal would essentially ban DeFi activity in the United States.

Following this incident, both Democrats and Republicans from the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees each held meetings with industry representatives. Solana Policy Institute President Kristin Smith, who met with Democratic party lawmakers, said they want to get the bill passed into law.

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