The US Senate has postponed the introduction of the long-awaited Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act, postponing final consideration to early 2026. Internal disputes have stalled consensus on key provisions and lawmakers are running out of legislative time.
This delay will prolong regulatory uncertainty for crypto exchanges, issuers, and institutional investors operating in the United States.
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Reasons why the virtual currency market structure bill was delayed
The bill builds on the House-passed Digital Asset Market Transparency (CLARITY) Act and aims to define how digital assets are regulated. This would officially split oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
However, unresolved disagreements over jurisdiction, DeFi oversight, and consumer protection slowed progress.
Senate negotiators had difficulty reconciling differences between the Banking and Agriculture committees. These commissions oversee the SEC and CFTC, respectively, and both claim authority over the cryptocurrency spot market.
As a result, lawmakers were unable to finalize language that both sides supported by the end of the session.
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DeFi regulations also emerged as a major issue. Some senators argued for an exemption for decentralized protocols without a controlling intermediary.
Some warned that broad exemptions could weaken enforcement and create regulatory gaps.
Consumer advocacy groups added pressure by opposing parts of the bill. They argue that the framework shifts authority away from the SEC and risks weakening investor protections after several high-profile cryptocurrency failures.
This opposition prompted further amendments and delayed negotiations.
Despite the delay, this bill is significantly different from other crypto bills that have already been passed. Unlike the GENIUS Act, which focused narrowly on stablecoins, the Market Structure Bill covers the entire crypto trading ecosystem.
It sets rules for exchanges, brokers, custody providers and token issuers under a unified federal framework.
The bill also goes further than enforcement-driven regulations. This introduces formal asset classification standards and limits reliance on court rulings to define whether a token is a security or a commodity.
Lawmakers argue that this approach replaces regulatory uncertainty with legal clarity.
