Senate Republicans Plan Vote on Crypto Legislation Even Amid Disagreements on Major Issues

Senate Banking Committee to Hold Key Vote on Crypto Legislation

Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), who leads the influential Senate Banking Committee, revealed on Tuesday that he intends to bring the committee’s comprehensive crypto market structure bill to a pivotal vote next week. This move comes even as some worry that pushing the bill forward now could jeopardize its chances of becoming law this year.

For several months, lawmakers from both parties who support cryptocurrency have been working together to finalize the language of this extensive bill, which aims to create a regulatory system for much of the U.S. crypto sector. Crypto industry advocates have invested years—and hundreds of millions of dollars—into building bipartisan backing for this legislation in Washington.

However, the bill’s complexity has led Senate Democrats and some undecided Republicans to resist pressure from the White House and others to meet various voting deadlines. Initial hopes were for a vote by July, then October, and later by the end of 2025, but each deadline passed without action.

Now, Senator Scott is determined to hold a crucial markup vote on the bill by Thursday, January 15, regardless of whether his fellow committee members are prepared.

“I believe it’s essential for us to take a formal vote,” Scott stated in an interview with Breitbart. “So, next Thursday, we’ll vote on market structure. Over the past six months, we’ve worked diligently to provide multiple drafts for every committee member.”

This upcoming vote will decide if the bill can advance out of the Senate Banking Committee, a significant step before it can be considered by the full Senate. At this time, it remains uncertain whether enough committee members support the bill as it stands.

Many leading crypto lobbyists were already doubtful that the legislation could pass this year, even without the current rush. Following Scott’s announcement of an expedited vote, some crypto industry figures have publicly questioned the wisdom of this approach.

“If the markup isn’t bipartisan, and there’s any hope for an agreement, it needs to be postponed,” commented Scott Johnsson, a general partner at Van Buren Capital and a frequent commentator on crypto policy, on social media.

Ongoing Negotiations and Unresolved Issues

On Tuesday, negotiators from both parties in the Senate, along with White House representatives, met to review the Republicans’ “final offer” on the bill’s language. According to a version of this offer obtained by Politico, several major issues remain unsettled.

• Ethics: This likely refers to the contentious debate over conflict-of-interest rules that would limit the involvement of the president, lawmakers, and their families in crypto-related businesses.
• Yield: This concerns current regulations on stablecoin yields, which the banking sector is eager to see revised.
• Quorum: This appears to address the Democrat-backed proposal to ensure bipartisan representation at federal financial agencies like the CFTC and SEC, amid concerns about the Trump administration’s impact on their independence.

DeFi and Legal Protections Remain Contentious

Perhaps most significantly, the document highlights two unresolved topics crucial to the oversight and legal status of decentralized finance (DeFi) software: the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which is included in the House’s version of the crypto bill, and “18 USC 1960,” the federal statute that defines illegal money transmitters. These issues are particularly sensitive, with crypto advocates on one side and Democrats concerned about national security and financial crimes on the other.

Salman Banaei, general counsel at Plume, expressed doubts about the prospects for next week’s vote, given the many outstanding disagreements.

“If the markup happens next week and the current negotiations have only produced a Republican ‘final offer’ to Senate Democrats, the outlook for a bipartisan vote is not promising,” Banaei remarked.