Crypto leaders meet Senate Democrats on stalled market bill

Senate Democrats host crypto executives on October 22, 2025, for market structure talks.

Senate Democrats convene a roundtable with crypto executives on October 22, 2025. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand leads the session. Key participants include Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Chainlink CEO Sergey Nazarov, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, Kraken CEO David Ripley, and Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams. Executives from Circle, Ripple, Jito, a16z Crypto, and Solana Policy Institute attend. The focus centers on stalled market structure legislation.

DeFi draft derails bipartisan talks

Bipartisan negotiations collapsed after Democrats circulated a leaked DeFi proposal. It addresses illicit finance and arbitrage risks. Republicans and industry figures condemned it as poorly structured and anti-innovation. Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott halted progress pending markup agreement. Internal staff communications confirm the deadlock.

Legislation aims for SEC-CFTC split

The bill seeks to clarify jurisdiction between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the U.S. agency regulating derivatives markets including futures and swaps. Republicans advocate "ancillary assets" for non-security tokens. Democrats prepare a rival version. The House approved the CLARITY Act in July 2025. Senate action faces delays into 2026 midterms.

CFTC integrates industry voices

The CFTC appointed crypto experts to advisory panels in October 2025, including Uniswap's Katherine Minarik and Chainlink's Ben Sherwin. These steps incorporate sector input on digital asset rules.