TheBlock
The Senate Banking Committee could hold a hearing to amend and vote on crypto market structure legislation as early as next week after Sens. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., finalized a compromise on stablecoin rewards that had stalled the bill for months.
The agreement blocks "covered parties" from paying interest or yield to U.S. customers solely for holding stablecoins, while preserving activity- or transaction-based rewards tied to bona fide activity. Cody Carbone, CEO of The Digital Chamber, called it "a great unlock to moving this forward," and said the fix "definitely shifted the vibes for the better."
The bill would carve up jurisdiction between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, giving more authority to the latter over digital-asset oversight. Solana Policy Institute President Kristin Smith put odds of passage at roughly 60%, up from 20–30% earlier this year — "the most encouraged I've ever been that we can get this done," she told The Block.
Why it matters
The committee has been in a holding pattern for much of the past year. Coinbase pulled support from an earlier draft over stablecoin rewards, forcing Banking to pull its initial markup; the House's Clarity Act passed last summer, and the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its own version in January. Clearing the stablecoin hurdle removes the single biggest known obstacle to a markup that could finally put a Senate Banking bill on the floor.
The remaining fight is political, not technical. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said at Consensus Miami there would be no support for the bill without an ethics provision barring the president, vice president, lawmakers and federal officials from certain digital-asset transactions. Democrats on the Agriculture Committee offered such amendments in January over Trump's crypto interests — including his and his wife's memecoins and the family's stake in World Liberty Financial — and were rebuffed.
Market impact
Bloomberg has estimated Trump has earned at least $1.4 billion from his crypto ventures, with additional scrutiny over a UAE-linked investment raising national-security concerns. Smith estimated a bill with ethics language could attract as many as 70 Senate votes, the threshold needed to clear the chamber.
Two unresolved pockets remain: the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act's non-custodial developer language, which law-enforcement groups warn could complicate financial-crime enforcement, and whether the CFTC has the staffing to absorb its expanded role.
Frequently asked questions
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What changed to revive the crypto market structure bill in the Senate?
Sens. Angela Alsobrooks and Thom Tillis finalized a compromise on stablecoin rewards, blocking "covered parties" from paying interest or yield to U.S. customers solely for holding stablecoins while preserving activity- or transaction-based rewards tied to bona fide activity.
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What are the odds of a comprehensive crypto bill passing this year?
Solana Policy Institute President Kristin Smith put passage odds at roughly 60%, up from 20–30% earlier this year, citing the stablecoin fix and time invested. Wintermute's Ron Hammond was more cautious at 30% on a "sliding scale" given election-year dynamics.
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What jurisdiction would the crypto bill assign between the SEC and CFTC?
The bill would divvy up digital-asset oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, granting more authority to the CFTC over spot digital-asset markets.
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Why are ethics provisions the final sticking point?
Democrats, led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, demand language barring the president, vice president, lawmakers and federal officials from certain digital-asset transactions. Bloomberg has estimated Trump has earned at least $1.4 billion from crypto ventures including memecoins and World Liberty Financial.
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What unresolved issues remain beyond ethics and stablecoin rewards?
Two pockets: Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act language that law-enforcement groups warn could complicate financial-crime enforcement against non-custodial developers, and whether the CFTC has sufficient staffing — it currently runs with roughly one-sixth of the SEC's headcount — to absorb its expanded role.
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