Senate Banking Committee postpones crypto market structure bill markup after Coinbase withdraws support

Senate postpones crypto bill markup

The Senate Banking Committee delayed its planned markup of a US crypto market structure bill that had been scheduled for Thursday. Chairman Tim Scott said senators from both parties continue negotiations on the draft. The bill aims to set a framework for how federal law treats crypto tokens and trading platforms in the United States. This delay arrived less than a day after Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange by revenue, withdrew its backing for the proposal.

Coinbase explains withdrawal and concerns

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced on social media on 14 January that the company no longer supports the current bill text. He said there are “too many issues” in the package and described this version as worse than the current status quo. Armstrong said he preferred no bill over what he called a bad bill. His decision came shortly before the scheduled committee session and ended Coinbase’s role as a leading industry supporter of this bill.

Industry and policy reaction to delay

Tim Scott stressed that talks with the crypto sector, banks and senators from both parties continue despite the postponement. Other industry figures described the package as complex market structure legislation that involves a large number of rulemakings spread over several years. Policy advisers compared the expected regulatory workload to the Dodd-Frank banking reforms that took between three and eight years to implement.

"There are too many issues with this version. We'd rather have no bill than a bad bill." — Brian Armstrong, CEO, Coinbase

Parallel efforts in Senate agriculture committee

The Senate Agriculture Committee supervises derivatives markets and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), including crypto derivatives markets. The committee also postponed its own market structure session and set a new markup date for 27 January 2026. Draft text from that committee is expected one week earlier. Work in both committees covers how US law divides responsibilities between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for crypto supervision.

Future path for US crypto rules

Deadlines for a comprehensive crypto framework in 2025 already slipped, and debate on the bill now continues into 2026. A national crypto market structure bill would define when a token counts as a security or a commodity under US law. It also covers registration and reporting rules for trading platforms and custodians contained in the current draft language. Congress faces pressure from industry groups and banks to adjust stablecoin rules, token treatment and enforcement powers as negotiations continue.