Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is making the biggest gamble of his time atop the panel — scheduling a markup of landmark crypto market structure legislation next Thursday without the clear-cut support of key Democrats and Republicans.
Congress often needs a deadline to get stuff done. But the challenges here are unusually stark.
Publicly, many senators at the center of these talks continue to project optimism. The reality, however, is that without significant breakthroughs in the next few days, the effort to incorporate digital assets into the regulated financial system could die in committee. Time is running out before midterm season lands on the Capitol.
The goal remains a bipartisan deal with Senate Democrats to get 60 votes on the floor. But the math has been complicated by GOP infighting.
— Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a process skeptic who has called for more public hearings on the policy, told us Tuesday afternoon the effort was in “jeopardy.”
— Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) spoke at length during Tuesday’s meeting about the need to limit third-party stablecoin yield in market structure, while Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) told reporters afterwards that reopening stablecoin law would mean “we’re not gonna have a bipartisan bill.”
— Shortly before Scott publicly confirmed his markup plans, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said he was in no rush to advance the bill:
“They’ve made some real, significant advancements, in terms of working through issues. I don’t know that it’s ready to go yet. I do believe you have to fully vet a product as important as this. So, I’m not worried about it getting done on a particular day, this week or next week.”
Zero yield. Politically, the hardest issue to resolve may now be the legal treatment of stablecoin yield among third parties like crypto exchanges. Banks are mounting an all-out lobbying blitz to effectively halt the practice. Crypto disagrees. Both have nine-figure super PACs ready to go in 2026.
Key Republicans, including Tillis and Kennedy, told us Tuesday that addressing stablecoin yield specifically was crucial. “It’s important,” Kennedy said of yield policy. “The bill’s in jeopardy if we don’t work something out.”
Temperature check. We asked Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), who recently announced her retirement, what would happen if Banking punts its January markup later in the year.
“I will probably consider harakiri,” Lummis said, laughing. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t funny. I just can’t contemplate working this hard for five years on something and have it just not happen.”
