Two Senate committees set Jan. 15 hearings to vote on sweeping crypto market structure legislation

Next week is shaping up to be a consequential one for crypto policy in Washington, as two key Senate committees prepare to advance legislation regulating digital assets.

The Senate Agriculture Committee, which has oversight over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, will hold that markup hearing on Jan. 15, a committee spokesperson said Wednesday in an email to The Block. The hearing comes as Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., has said he plans to hold a markup hearing on Jan. 15 as well.

Movement on a sweeping crypto bill is significant following several periods of negotiation over the past year. Ultimately, draft versions of bills look to allocate jurisdiction between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission, but versions differ in the House and Senate.

The Senate Banking Committee has a version that looks to create a new term for “ancillary assets” to clarify which cryptocurrencies are not securities. Meanwhile, the Senate Agriculture Committee has a draft that gives new authority to the CFTC, but as of November was heavily bracketed, signifying key issues that need to be resolved.

If versions of a crypto market structure bill are passed out of both committees next week, they would be reconciled before going to a full Senate vote. Afterwards, lawmakers will also have to figure out how to move forward with the House’s version, called the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or just Clarity for short, that passed the full House over the summer.

Then, with a crypto market structure bill being passed in both the House and Senate, it could be sent to President Donald Trump’s desk to be passed into law.

Issues that are likely to surface during the markups next week will involve Trump’s crypto conflicts of interest — of which Bloomberg has estimated that he has earned hundreds of millions from his family’s crypto ventures — and issues around the treatment of yield-bearing stablecoins.

In a letter sent this week to the Senate, the American Bankers Association’s Community Bankers Council said that gaps need to be closed in a stablecoin bill passed over the summer, nicknamed GENIUS, that could allow crypto firms to offer rewards from yield-bearing programs to stablecoin holders. Bankers say closing those gaps is critical because it could impact local banks’ ability to lend money, as banks use deposits to provide loans to their communities.

Many in the crypto industry pushed back on Wednesday, including Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad. Shirzad posted his concerns on X on Wednesday.

“Bottom line: banks oppose rewards not out of prudential concern, but because competition threatens protected revenue streams,” Shirzad said. “Protecting GENIUS—and the ability to offer rewards—means lower costs, more choice, and a more competitive payments system for Americans.”