WASHINGTON, DC – The Senate’s stalled crypto market structure bill is making progress behind the scenes, the chairman of the body’s banking committee said Tuesday.
Senator Tim Scott, who chairs the banking panel overseeing the market structure bill, said at the Digital Chamber’s DC Blockchain Summit that lawmakers may see a new draft of at least stablecoin language as soon as this week.
The stablecoin dividend has been the most publicly debated issue in the market structure bill, but lawmakers have remained engaged, Scott said.
“I think this week we will have the first proposal in my hands to look at,” he said. “If it actually happened by the end of this week, and I think it will, at least we’ll know that the sketch looks like the person. If that’s the case, I think we’ll be in much better shape.”
He credited Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and the White House’s Patrick Witt for their efforts on the dividend.
Other outstanding issues have also been negotiated, particularly over the past month, he said, pointing to concerns lawmakers had about U.S. President Donald Trump and his family’s crypto ventures, the lack of bipartisan commissioners at major regulatory agencies and know-your-customer rules.
“I think we’re very close to landing the plane in terms of ethical issues, of quorum,” Scott said. “We know it’s a big problem for our friends across the aisle, so we’re fixing that too. I think we’re moving forward with some [nominations]which is good news that we were able to get some out the other side. I think the issue of DeFi is something that [Senator] Mark Warner is holding on tight, AML [anti-money laundering] be a very important part. So I think we’re working on that case.”
