Many Senators Absent From ‘Bipartisan’ Crypto Market Structure Hearing
On June 24, 2025, a key hearing aimed at exploring a bipartisan legislative framework for digital asset market structure saw a notable lack of participation from US senators. The US Senate Banking Committee’s subcommittee on digital assets convened to discuss potential market structure legislation following the recent passage of the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin bill, but only five of the 11 senators typically on the subcommittee attended to engage with former regulators and industry experts.
Subcommittee Chair Cynthia Lummis, a Republican, explained that conflicting schedules with other committee meetings likely contributed to the low turnout. The senators present included Lummis herself, Republicans Dave McCormick, Bill Hagerty, and Bernie Moreno, as well as Senator Angela Alsobrooks, the only Democrat at the hearing and a cosponsor of the original GENIUS Act. Alsobrooks appeared in place of ranking member Ruben Gallego.
The panel of witnesses featured former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Behnam, Coinbase’s Vice President of Legal Ryan VanGrack, Multicoin Capital’s General Counsel Greg Xethalis, and Sarah Hammer, Executive Director at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Blockchain and Crypto Initiative. The lawmakers questioned them on the guiding principles for a potential crypto market structure bill that aims to build on the stablecoin legislation’s momentum.
Acknowledging the sparse attendance and participatory imbalance, Lummis emphasized the importance of genuine bipartisan input for any resulting legislation. “I don’t want to come up with a piece of legislation that the other side of the aisle feels they haven’t had adequate input in,” she said. Lummis also expressed puzzlement over the decline in bipartisan engagement on crypto issues, hinting at political sensitivities regarding conflicts of interest tied to crypto holdings among certain administration family members.
Senator Lummis commented, “Now, I understand what happens when you have a set of leaders that are not engaged in digital assets, and then in comes an administration that has family members that are engaged in digital assets, and maybe that’s what this is about. Maybe this is about concern that certain people that have family members in the administration are going to be advantaged in some way by what we’re doing.”
Senator Moreno also raised questions about why crypto market structure reforms have become a partisan matter, although neither he nor Lummis specifically named President Donald Trump in their remarks. Despite Trump’s public support for some crypto initiatives, certain Senate Democrats have indicated they remain cautious or opposed to further legislation unless explicit provisions address concerns of potential conflicts of interest related to the president’s connections to the crypto industry.
The hearing underscored the complexities shaping crypto regulatory efforts in Congress. While the GENIUS Act successfully passed on June 17 with bipartisan backing, upcoming legislation to define the broader digital asset market structure faces hurdles in achieving similar consensus. Parallel efforts are underway in the House of Representatives with the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, which recently advanced out of committee and is slated for a floor vote soon.
As the Senate subcommittee continues its deliberations, the presence and participation of a full, engaged panel of lawmakers will likely be crucial to crafting sustainable, bipartisan crypto market structure legislation that balances innovation with regulatory clarity.
The hearing and ongoing legislative activity reflect the heightened scrutiny and strategic importance of digital asset regulation amid growing interest from government officials, industry players, and the investing public.
For more updates on crypto legislation and market developments, stay tuned to Cointelegraph.