US Crypto Legislation: Why Is Everything Hanging (and Stuck) in the Senate?

If you’re trying to follow the development of cryptocurrency legislation in the United States, you probably feel like you’re watching a tennis match where the ball changes shape every five minutes. Between committee squabbles and corporate exits, here’s what you need to know about the current state of affairs in the Senate.

Key points of this article:

• The Senate Agriculture Committee has taken the lead on legislation regarding bitcoin, which is considered a “digital commodity.”
• It is stored the alarming contrast between the progress of the Committee on Agriculture and the inertia of the Banking Committee threatens legislative harmony.
• Coinbase caused a shock by pulling out of the talks, angering the White House and potentially triggering tougher regulation.

Committee on Agriculture: Unexpected Conductor One might wonder why agricultural professionals are getting involved in blockchain. In the United States, it’s a matter of hierarchy: the Senate Agriculture Committee controls CFTC (a regulator of commodities such as wheat or oil).

Because Bitcoin is legally considered a “digital commodity,” it is the commission that is leading the legislative process under the CFTC’s action, which it decries for a lack of resources.

And in this context, the chairman of this committee, John Boozman, has just decided to go to the next stage: “markings”, scheduled for next Tuesday. This is a crucial moment when senators vote to approve or amend the text before it is presented to the full Senate. Problem? It is moving forward without Democratic approval, making the rest of the process very uncertain.

Senate v. Banking Commission: The Two-Speed ​​Engine Let’s be honest. For cryptocurrency legislation to be robust, it usually has to pass through two departments: Agriculture (for commodities) and Banking commission (for everything related to banks and investor protection). The current problem is that the Banking Commission is procrastinating.

This inconsistency creates confusion: we have a text that defines how to exchange cryptocurrencies, but it does not yet fully address banking issues. It’s a bit like trying to start a car if the wheels and engine are made in different factories. Without this harmonization, the bill risks remaining a dead letter or being too incomplete to reassure the market.

The shadow of Coinbase and pressure from the White House So the delicate balance between industry and regulators appears to be teetering on the other side of the Atlantic. By deciding to pull out of the talks, Coinbase drew the ire of the White House. Patrick Witt, a digital asset advisor, issued a strong warning against the platform, arguing that this refusal to compromise could accelerate adoption of a much stricter legal framework .

However, impatience is growing at the highest levels of government. At the forum in Davos, Donald Trump announced his intention to sign this regulatory framework “very soon”. The president sees the legislation as a way to unlock the digital economy, even if it means upsetting a still deeply divided Congress. So the tug-of-war is just beginning: between the political will to act quickly and the technical demands of industry players, the path to clear regulation still resembles an obstacle course. More to come in Le Journal du Coin.