U.S. Senate Delays Crypto Market Structure Bill Until Early 2026

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has action on a bill that would overhaul the entire crypto market. It has been confirmed that there will not be a markup in 2025, and the process will instead move to ahead 2026. 

The change leaves unanswered essential concerns about how federal regulators operate. Questions like: Will the and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) split their oversight of spot crypto markets and digital asset securities?

It’s the last week of the 2025 congressional session, and lawmakers are expected to cut it short as both houses prepare to leave Washington for the holiday break. This means the bill won’t move forward this year. 

Markup Moved To 2026 

The committee’s update says that time has run out to pass the crypto market structure law before the end of the year, even though there have been months of negotiations between the parties to reach an acceptable framework.

The expected markup will now happen in the new year. People in the market are keeping a close eye on whether the committee will release the latest bipartisan draft text before the holiday break. 

For almost two months, both parties have been actively working on the draft. Its release would provide the sector with a clearer idea of how Congress plans to define key terms, such as digital asset securities, spot commodity tokens, and the responsibilities of platforms and brokers.

People in the industry are especially interested in how the new law would make the difference between the SEC and over jurisdiction official. 

This split has been a source of disagreement due to overlapping enforcement actions and differing policy perspectives. There is no chance of resolving these hardies at the federal level this year without a markup in 2025. The committee’s decision makes it clear that significant changes to how the U.S. government overviews cryptocurrencies won’t be made until at least 2026. 

difficultys With Working Together Across Committees 

The Senate Agriculture Committee, which overviews the CFTC, hasn’t set a date for a markup on its own crypto-related measure either. This means that its process will also be pushed back to 2026. At first, Senate leaders wanted and Agriculture to work together to make progress, with both panels advancing their versions by the end of 2025 so the floor could discuss them.

Without synchronised movement, the chances of getting a unified market structure package moving in the near future go down. 

This staggered approach could make it even harder to find common ground on topics like how to supervise the spot market, how to manage , and what the criteria should be for intermediaries.

Both committees are now looking ahead to next year. Whether bipartisan collaboration can last through the congressional break and into a politically sensitive 2026 calendar will determine the final legislative text.