Democrats Back Bipartisan Crypto Market Structure Bill as Senate Vote Looms

Twelve Senate Democrats are pressing for a greater role in shaping landmark cryptocurrency legislation as the Senate Banking Committee prepares for a vote on the Republican-led crypto market structure ￰2￱ lawmakers released a joint statement on Friday urging their Republican colleagues to pursue a bipartisan authorship process, arguing that legislation of this scale should not move forward without equal input from both ￰3￱ Regulation in Limbo as Democrats and Republicans Struggle Over Drafting Power The group, which includes Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mark Warner (D-VA), and others, described digital assets as a $4 trillion global market that demands a considered and bipartisan approach.

NEW: Senate Dems say they want to work with their Republican colleagues to ‘move forward quickly’ on bipartisan crypto market structure ￰4￱ — Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) September 19, 2025 They said they remain open to collaboration but emphasized that the process must begin with “mutual understanding” between both ￰5￱ Democrats’ appeal follows the release of their own policy framework outlining seven core principles for digital asset ￰6￱ proposal calls for closing gaps in spot markets for non-security tokens, clarifying regulatory jurisdiction between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and bringing both issuers and trading platforms under clear regulatory ￰7￱ also stresses the importance of preventing illicit finance, corruption, and abuse while ensuring fair and effective regulation.

Republicans, led by Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, have been pushing to advance the bill before the end of ￰8￱ Tim Scott predicted that 12 out of 18 Democrats may back the CLARITY Act in an appearance on Tuesday. #TimScott #CLARITYAct ￰0￱ — ￰9￱ (@cryptonews) August 20, 2025 Scott previously set a September 30 deadline to finalize the legislation, though aides now suggest the markup could be delayed until the week of October 20 to allow further Democratic ￰10￱ current Republican draft proposes creating a joint SEC-CFTC committee to harmonize regulatory guidance while also granting the CFTC new authority over spot markets for digital assets not classified as ￰11￱ closed doors, Democrats are seeking deeper involvement in drafting the bill rather than being limited to offering feedback on a Republican-written ￰12￱ to reports from Politico, they also want greater coordination with the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC, and closer engagement with technical assistance from regulatory ￰13￱ negotiations come at a time of heightened urgency in Washington to provide clear rules for digital ￰14￱ Scott has argued that bipartisan support will be necessary to ensure the legislation’s success, recently predicting that at least 12 of the 18 Democrats on the committee could ultimately back the bill.

However, some Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have voiced skepticism about the crypto industry’s influence, posing a potential obstacle for broader party ￰15￱ lawmakers insist they have sought Democratic feedback since July and point to prior bipartisan efforts on narrower crypto legislation. A spokesperson for Senator Cynthia Lummis, a key Republican voice on digital assets, said both she and Scott remain committed to crafting legislation that balances innovation with investor ￰16￱ Democrats now publicly pressing for an equal role in authorship, the path forward remains ￰17￱ could move the bill out of committee without Democratic backing, but doing so risks undermining momentum ahead of a full Senate ￰18￱ Act Faces Divisions in Congress as Market Confidence Wavers The push for comprehensive ￰19￱ regulation is gathering momentum but remains fraught with ￰20￱ Sept. 9, twelve Democratic senators unveiled a framework calling for stricter disclosure rules , mandatory registration of trading platforms with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and expanded oversight by the SEC and ￰21￱ plan also seeks to bar lawmakers and their families from profiting from digital assets, a move aimed at curbing political conflicts of ￰22￱ the same time, public confidence in the CLARITY Act has dipped.

A Polymarket prediction poll shows only 39% of bettors expect the measure to become law by the end of 2025, down sharply from 87% in ￰23￱ Republicans have linked the bill to legislation banning a Federal Reserve central bank digital currency, advancing both measures in a procedural vote on ￰24￱ decision follows President Trump’s successful July push to rally GOP support for a broader package, including stablecoin and anti-CBDC provisions. @SenJohnKennedy says “we’re not ready” on the GOP crypto bill, raising doubts about the Senate’s plan to advance market structure legislation. #Crypto #USPolitics #cryptobill ￰1￱ — ￰25￱ (@cryptonews) September 10, 2025 In the Senate, however, divisions are slowing ￰26￱ Kennedy (R-La.) warned on Sept. 10 that the Banking Committee is “not ready” to move forward , citing unresolved concerns over industry ￰27￱ comments directly challenge Chairman Tim Scott, who has pledged to mark up the bill before the end of September.

Scott’s office insists that months of consultations with stakeholders show momentum is ￰28￱ with confidence faltering in markets and politics alike, the bill’s path remains uncertain.