U.S. Senate Democrats are reportedly set to reopen talks with representatives from the cryptocurrency industry on Friday regarding the CLARITY Act. All this comes less than two days after a last-minute postponement of a key Senate Banking Committee hearing on sweeping digital asset legislation. The delay followed Wednesday night’s abrupt cancellation of the committee’s planned markup of the long-negotiated crypto market structure bill, which had been expected to divide regulatory oversight of digital assets between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the CFTC. The delay came after Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based crypto exchange, withdrew its support for the draft legislation, citing concerns over stablecoin rewards programs and what it viewed as excessive authority granted to the SEC.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said banks are trying to “kill their competition” with the crypto market structure legislation. Thursday marked a pause in public activity after the cancellation, but negotiations remain ongoing. Democrats from both the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee— which oversees the CFTC— are expected to join Friday’s call, along with representatives from crypto policy advocacy groups in Washington. The Banking Committee had been scheduled to hold an all-day session Thursday to debate amendments and vote on whether to advance the bill.
That plan unravelled late Wednesday after Armstrong said the company could not support the current version of the legislation. Shortly thereafter, Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., postponed the hearing. Despite the setback, several lawmakers involved in the negotiations said discussions are far from over. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a leading crypto advocate in the Senate, said lawmakers were “closer than ever” to reaching agreement.
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