US Crypto Market Structure Bill Delayed as Year-End Clock Runs Out

The delay pushes any formal committee vote into early 2026, extending uncertainty for an industry that has been waiting years for a clear federal framework covering oversight, registration and investor protections across digital asset markets.

According to a statement circulated to industry reported by Politico, the outcome was driven largely by the compressed congressional calendar. 

“We’ve reached the final legislative week of 2025, which is expected to be a short one as House and Senate members head home for the holidays,” the statement was quoted as saying. The Banking Committee “has run out of time to mark up market structure legislation this year, and a hearing will now be pushed into the new year,” it said.

Second major pillar 

The delayed bill is the second major pillar of US crypto legislation, following the passage of the GENIUS Act earlier this year, which established a federal framework for dollar-backed stablecoins.

While GENIUS focused narrowly on issuance, reserves and payments infrastructure, the market structure bill is intended to tackle the harder question of who regulates crypto markets and how trading venues are supervised.

GENIUS cleared the path for regulated stablecoins to operate at scale, but without a market structure law, exchanges, brokers and institutional investors remain caught between overlapping SEC and CFTC mandates, a gap lawmakers had hoped to close before year-end.

The Banking Committee has spent much of the past two months negotiating a revised bipartisan draft designed to clarify the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in overseeing crypto markets.

However, the statement indicated that the final text has yet to be released, leaving industry participants waiting to see whether lawmakers publish the latest version before Congress breaks.

Without a markup, the bill cannot advance to a full Senate vote, effectively freezing progress until lawmakers return in January. The delay is compounded by parallel inaction in the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC and must also sign off on its own version of the legislation.

The need for coordination between the two committees reflects the bill’s scope. The legislation is intended to define how spot crypto markets are regulated, how trading venues register, and how jurisdiction is split between securities and commodities regulators.

The delay keeps a key source of regulatory uncertainty for the wider market firmly in place. 

While US regulators have taken steps to soften their stance through guidance, pilot programmes and selective relief, the absence of a statutory framework continues to complicate long-term planning around structure and cross-market supervision.

The timing also matters politically. When Congress returns, lawmakers will face looming government funding deadlines and, later in the year, the gravitational pull of the midterm election cycle, both of which could limit time for complex financial legislation.

The market structure bill remains alive but unfinished. The Senate’s decision to move it into 2026 means the industry will enter another year with the legal foundations of the sector still awaiting Congressional attention.