Potential Delay in Crypto Market Structure Legislation
US Senator Cynthia Lummis has indicated that the US Senate Banking Committee is likely to postpone its hearing on crypto market structure legislation. This expectation follows Coinbase's decision to withdraw its support for the bill.
Initial discussions regarding a potential delay in the CLARITY Act Senate markup, scheduled for Wednesday, gained significant traction after an X post from Bloomberg reporter Steven Dennis. Dennis reported on Wednesday evening:
“Lummis tells me her recommendation and expectation is that the markup be pulled for now. It’s Banking Chair Tim Scott’s call.”
The Senate markup was slated to take place on Thursday at 10:00 am Eastern Time. Cointelegraph sought comment from Senator Scott's office but had not received an immediate response.
Industry Concerns and Coinbase's Withdrawal of Support
Lawmakers have been engaged in consultations with representatives from the banking and crypto industries for several weeks to discuss the provisions of the CLARITY Act.
However, on Wednesday, Coinbase publicly announced its withdrawal of support for the bill. The cryptocurrency exchange stated that the latest draft of the legislation was unfavorable to the industry.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong highlighted several concerns in an X post. These included the potential elimination of stablecoin rewards, restrictions on tokenized stocks, granting the government unlimited access to financial records, and a reduction in the authority of the US commodities regulator over crypto markets compared to initial expectations.
“This version would be materially worse than the current status quo. We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill. Hopefully we can all get to a better draft.“
This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.