Senior crypto executives, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Chainlink Labs co-founder Sergey Nazarov, met with US senators on Wednesday to press for progress on long-delayed digital-asset legislation.
Crypto Leaders Push for Progress on CLARITY Act in Washington Meetings
23 October 2025 - 13:18 CEST
The group, which also included leaders from Kraken and Uniswap Labs, held three hours of meetings with lawmakers from both parties on Capitol Hill.
The discussions focused on the CLARITY Act, a bill designed to define how digital-asset markets operate under US law. The measure passed the House earlier this year alongside the related GENIUS Act, but remains stalled in the Senate amid partisan divisions and the wider government shutdown that has frozen much legislative activity.
“We’re going to push the Democrats and Republicans to work together on this bill,” Nazarov said after the meetings. “Collaboration is an important part of this process, and we try to show lawmakers that their concerns can be addressed directly onchain.”
Lawmakers pressed on stalled crypto bill
The first meeting, with Democratic senators led by Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, lasted about ninety minutes and centred on consumer protection and anti-money-laundering safeguards. A later session with Republican lawmakers, including Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, focused on innovation and competitiveness.
Scott’s spokesperson, Jeff Naft, described the talks as productive, saying participants “provided feedback and reaffirmed support for a bipartisan approach to digital-asset policy.”
Despite the outreach, staffers on both sides say the bill is unlikely to move before the end of the year. With Congress divided and agencies operating on limited budgets, few expect a committee markup before 2026.
Regulators slow as shutdown drags on
The government shutdown has left the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) short of staff and resources. SEC Chair Paul Atkins confirmed that rulemaking work has paused, while acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham said her agency would prioritise listed spot-crypto trading and tokenised-collateral policy through year-end.
For now, progress on crypto legislation in Washington depends less on new proposals than on keeping existing talks alive through the gridlock. The industry’s latest charm offensive may not shift the political deadlock, but it signals that crypto leaders intend to stay at the table until the law catches up.
