Speaking on CoinDesk Live at the Ondo Summit in New York City, former House Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry and White House Counsel Patrick Witt said a comprehensive crypto market structure bill could pass within months.
Latest developments: Optimism is rising across Washington and the industry.
- McHenry and Witt discussed the growing momentum for landmark crypto legislation even as debates intensify over dividends, DeFi and ethics.
- McHenry predicted that a final market structure bill could reach the president’s desk by Memorial Day.
- Witt said that President Trump has personally prioritized the legislation following the passage of the Genius Act.
Push inside the White House: The negotiations are narrowing.
- Witt said a recent White House broker meeting on stablecoin dividends emerged “new areas of agreement” while clearly defining remaining red lines.
- He said the administration’s goal is to move from high-level principles to drafting actual legislative language.
- Witt emphasized that his role is to broker a deal that can survive both Senate and House scrutiny.
The sticking point: The stablecoin yield is the biggest unsolved problem.
- Witt said there is broad agreement to prohibit deceptive practices, including marketing stablecoins as FDIC-insured deposits.
- The dispute centers on whether centralized exchanges should be allowed to pay passive returns on inactive stablecoin balances.
- Banks, especially local lenders, see dividends as a threat to deposit funding, while crypto firms argue that dividends drive platform engagement.
Why DeFi Matters: McHenry says it’s fundamental.
- McHenry said market structure legislation “doesn’t work without DeFi.”
- He argued that decentralization is the source of crypto’s efficiency, transparency and lower cost compared to traditional finance.
- McHenry said tokenized lending products are already cheaper than traditional securities lending, signaling strong market demand.
The policy: Ethics concern tissue, but must not block the passage.
- McHenry said ethics rules should apply permanently to all officials, not target any single administration or family.
- Witt said some Democratic proposals would have imposed sweeping restrictions on the spouses of officials and were “grossly excessive.”
- Both said a narrower ethics compromise could still unlock bipartisan support, though Republicans could advance the bill on partisan votes if necessary.
What comes next: A compressed legislative timeline.
- Witt said drafting teams now “trade paper” and work through specific statutory language.
- He said the White House is pushing banks and crypto firms to negotiate in good faith.
- McHenry said Senate action could come before Easter, setting a fast pace toward final passage.
Watch CoinDesk Live from the Ondo Summit here.
