Some of the top digital assets execs are heading to a meeting this week with U.S. Senate Democrats to see about getting the market structure bill moving.
By Jesse Hamilton|Edited by Nikhilesh De
Oct 20, 2025, 5:57 p.m.
- The crypto industry’s top goal — U.S. market structure legislation — has been languishing and may slip well into next year.
- Several digital assets CEOs are set to meet with Senate Democrats this week to try to get past some controversial sticking points in the bill negotiations.
There is a growing sense that 2025 will be a bust for the long-awaited U.S. legislation to establish a fully regulated crypto sector, but negotiations in the Senate can at least build momentum again, according to the sentiments of those set to speak with Senate Democrats this week.
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Crypto leaders such as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov, Uniswap’s Hayden Adams and Solana Policy Institute President Kristin Smith are preparing to meet with as many as 10 Democratic senators, according to the expectations of people involved with the event, though the plans weren’t yet finalized.
The Wednesday meeting, also set to include the chiefs of Kraken and Galaxy Digital, will seek to move forward from some controversial discussion language that recently emerged from the Democratic side. The decentralized finance (DeFi) ideas outlined were seen as unworkable by industry insiders, threatening the negotiations over the crypto market structure bill that would set rules and government oversight for U.S. crypto markets.
The crypto chiefs hope to “get market structure legislation back on track and ensure that communications with industry remain open,” according to a spokeswoman from Chainlink. “Dialogues like this are critical to making this a reality.”
Earlier this year, Senators from both parties were optimistic about finishing the legislation and getting it to the desk of President Donald Trump, who already signed a bill into law that regulates U.S. issued stablecoins. While the House of Representatives already landed market structure legislation with its Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the Senate’s progress has slowed as negotiations grew contentious and the federal government shut down for lack of an approved spending plan.
Trump’s earlier deadline of August passed by, followed by a Sept. 30 deadline set by Senator Tim Scott, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. As continually postponed plans for legislative markup dates slipped by, Senator Cynthia Lummis had recently offered the end of the year as a more realistic target, though others are less hopeful.
“The United States Senate will do their job,” said Mannar Hanna, a former general counsel for Senator Scott who now works at APCO Worldwide, at a panel during DC Fintech Week. He joked that it pained him to admit the House had already done its own duty.
“I would say next year,” Hanna predicted for market structure completion. “There’s a lot on Congress’ plate in the next couple of months.”
Read More: Senate Democrats’ Leaked Crypto Position Would Strangle DeFi, Industry Insiders Say
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Oct 18, 2025
In an X post, Ripple’s Stuart Alderoty said two recent New York Times pieces wrongly cast crypto as only a tool for crime and corruption.
What to know:
- Stuart Alderoty said some mainstream pieces celebrate a “crypto is a tool of crime and corruption” narrative, which he called “lazy and inaccurate.”
- He argued public blockchains are transparent and traceable, and that everyday Americans use crypto for payments, proof of ownership, and on-chain commerce.
- As National Cryptocurrency Association president, he has been urging clearer guardrails and public education in recent writing.
