The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee has postponed a crucial markup hearing for its proposed crypto market structure bill, the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, from Tuesday, January 27, to Thursday, January 29, at 10:30 a.m. ET. The delay is attributed to a severe winter storm that disrupted travel and operations across the East Coast, forcing the Senate to also reschedule votes on a broader government funding package set to expire on Friday night.
The markup is a critical step where lawmakers will debate and vote on amendments to the bill, which aims to define the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)'s regulatory authority over digital asset markets. The hearing is expected to be contentious. Committee Chair John Boozman stated last week that he and Democratic Senator Cory Booker had "fundamental differences in policy" and were unable to reach an agreement on the bill's text.
Democrats have proposed 11 amendments, including provisions from the Digital Asset Ethics Act introduced by Senator Michael Bennet. These amendments seek to impose ethics commitments on senior government officials, prevent candidates for Congress or the White House from engaging with digital assets, and address concerns over foreign interference.
In a related development, a joint event between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on crypto oversight harmonization, featuring Chairs Michael Selig and Paul Atkins, was also postponed from Tuesday to Thursday. This marks the Senate's second attempt to advance crypto market structure legislation, following the indefinite cancellation of a similar markup by the Senate Banking Committee two weeks ago after criticism from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
The bill's path forward remains uncertain, as it will likely require some Democratic support to pass through committee and advance to a Senate floor vote. Furthermore, the looming possibility of a U.S. government shutdown at the end of January if funding bills are not passed could further delay legislative progress on crypto regulation.
