Key U.S. senator on crypto market structure bill negotiation: 'We think we've got it"

Policy Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Key U.S. senator on crypto market structure bill negotiation: 'We think we've got it" Senator Cynthia Lummis, at the center of legislative talks, said the discussion is down to nuance and the bill will finally emerge from her committee in April. By Jesse Hamilton | Edited by Nikhilesh De Mar 18, 2026, 3:10 p.m. Make us preferred on Google U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis predicts a major step forward for the crypto market structure bill next month.(Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk) What to know : U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, who runs the crypto subcommittee within the Senate Banking Committee, says the crypto market structure bill should advance from the committee by late April. She said the talks have essentially worked out a compromise on stablecoin yield that the crypto industry had been hashing out with bankers focused on how stablecoin companies describe their offerings. Lummis, a Wyoming Republican, said she expects the bill to pass the Senate by the end of the year. U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, a lawmaker at the center of talks on the crypto industry's top policy goal to pass a market structure bill, said the talks have probably reached the necessary compromises to move the legislation forward. "We think we've got it," Lummis, the chairwoman of the Senate Banking Committee's digital assets subcommittee, said at the Digital Chamber's DC Blockchain Summit on Wednesday. "We really are going to get it out of the banking committee in April." Lummis has been deeply involved in months of talks over the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act language. After the process was derailed by bank lobbyists who'd argued that stablecoin yield would threaten their industry's deposit accounts, much of the debate centered on stablecoin rewards programs that the crypto industry believed were still allowed under last year's Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. The Wyoming Republican said she believes the final compromise will disallow crypto platforms from offering rewards that use any language that equates them with deposit yield or ties the rewards to the amount of assets a user holds. "Anything that sounds like banking product terminology will not appear," she said. She added that she hasn't seen the most recent language, but she said that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has been "really pretty good about being willing to give on this issue." Armstrong and his U.S. exchange, which has leaned heavily into stablecoin rewards programs, had opposed an earlier compromise effort, which had initially helped derail the legislative process on this bill. Previous disagreements over language governing the security of decentralized finance (DeFi) has also been worked out, she said. Lummis suggested the legislation will get a hearing after the Senate's Easter break, pointing to late April. If it does clear such a hearing, known as a markup, that will mark the second necessary committee approval (after the Senate Agriculture Committee had already passed a version earlier this year ). Then it gets reworked into a combined version that could eventually face a vote by the overall Senate. The Senate's schedule, however, is very much in flux. Both parties are threatening unrelated legislative tussles over other legislation and the war in Iran, which could occupy valuable floor time in the coming weeks. And the Senate's 2026 session will also be shortened by the midterm congressional elections later in the year. "We're going to have this thing done, come hell or high water, before the end of the year," Lummis said. More For You UK lawmakers urge ‘immediate moratorium’ on crypto political donations By Francisco Rodrigues | Edited by Sheldon Reback 3 hours ago The committee highlighted that the fast payment traits of crypto, along with tools like mixers, tumblers, and AI-assisted splitting of payments below the £500 reporting threshold. What to know : A U.K. parliamentary committee called for an "immediate moratorium on crypto donations" to political parties, citing the "avoidable risk" they pose to political finance and public trust. The committee highlighted the fast payment traits of crypto, along with tools like mixers and AI-assisted splitting of payments below the minimum reporting threshold as helping to obfuscate the funds' origins. The committee wants the moratorium written into the Representation of the People Bill and is urging the government to empower the Electoral Commission to compel donor information from banks, HMRC, and crypto platforms to verify donors and avoid abuse. Read full story Latest Crypto News Bitcoin hash rate is tumbling as Iran war lifts energy prices 18 minutes ago Bank of Korea adds two banks to digital won trials as real-world testing begins 51 minutes ago Stripe-led payments blockchain Tempo goes live with protocol for AI agents 1 hour ago CoinDesk 20 performance update: index falls 3.1% as all constituents trade lower 1 hour ago Large investors are doubling down on crypto, but getting a lot pickier about risk 1 hour ago RedotPay executive turnover clouds crypto payments firm's $4 billion U.S. IPO ambition 2 hours ago Top Stories Bitcoin quickly pulls back to $72,300 as Iran fears team up with poor U.S. inflation data 2 hours ago U.S. SEC issues first-ever definitions for what crypto assets are securities 18 hours ago Powell's comments on oil, inflation are likely to guide bitcoin traders 3 hours ago UK lawmakers urge ‘immediate moratorium’ on crypto political donations 3 hours ago Stratton wins Illinois Senate primary, defeating crypto-backed Krishnamoorthi 12 hours ago Bitcoin’s rally runs into 'sell the news' risk ahead of Fed decision 4 hours ago