Washington’s long-awaited effort to bring clarity to crypto regulation is heading into rough weather—both political and literal. Senate Republicans are preparing to move forward with a revised crypto market structure bill next week, even as talks with Democrats collapse and a major snowstorm threatens to shut down Capitol Hill.
Late Wednesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee released updated legislative text after a two-week extension of negotiations failed to produce a bipartisan deal. Committee Chair John Boozman of Arkansas acknowledged that compromise efforts with Democrats had stalled, setting the stage for what could become a party-line vote in next Tuesday’s markup—assuming lawmakers can make it back to Washington through heavy snowfall.
Former Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett first shared the development on X, noting that the new version of the bill has no public backing from Democrats on the committee. That includes Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who had been the lead Democratic negotiator during the talks.
If the markup goes ahead as planned, the bill could pass strictly along Republican lines. That would mark a sharp contrast with the House Agriculture Committee’s Clarity Act, which sailed through with overwhelming bipartisan support in a 47–6 vote.
Despite the political split, early reactions from the crypto industry have been cautiously positive. Several stakeholders say the Senate proposal closely mirrors the House version in key areas. The bill focuses primarily on intermediaries such as exchanges and brokers, rather than targeting blockchain protocols or everyday users. It also includes protections for noncustodial software developers and infrastructure providers—an issue the industry has long argued is essential to protect innovation.
One notable feature of the text is how it treats meme coins. The bill classifies them as “digital commodities,” defining them as tokens mainly promoted online for speculative trading. At the same time, regulators would retain flexibility to carve out exceptions where appropriate.
Funding is another central piece. Under the proposal, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would receive ongoing resources through fees paid by regulated platforms, similar to how the Securities and Exchange Commission finances its oversight.
Still, the path forward remains uncertain.
Although Booker’s team says he will continue working with Boozman in hopes of eventually passing the bill into law, momentum elsewhere in the Senate appears to be slowing. The Senate Banking Committee is expected to delay its own market structure markup for several weeks as it shifts attention to housing legislation tied to President Donald Trump’s affordability agenda.
Meanwhile, separate talks involving banks, Coinbase, and lawmakers over the controversial “yield” issue remain frozen. Leaders in both the White House and the Banking Committee have indicated that progress on that front is a prerequisite before broader crypto legislation can move ahead.
For now, all eyes are on Tuesday’s 3 p.m. ET Senate Agriculture Committee markup. But even that may not happen on schedule. Forecasts calling for up to two feet of snow could ground lawmakers and derail proceedings—turning winter weather into an unlikely obstacle in crypto’s long journey through Congress.
Whether politics or snowfall proves the bigger spoiler, the crypto industry may soon find that its regulatory future depends as much on the weather as on Washington’s partisan divide.
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