Sen. Tim Scott urges Senate to hold December vote on crypto legislation

Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R‑S.C.) is renewing his effort to mark up a comprehensive crypto market‑structure bill as early as December and to move it toward a full Senate vote in early 2026.

He was on Fox Business on Tuesday, detailing a new timeline for tackling the legislative gridlock that has stalled the proposal for months.

Scott presses for a new deadline

Scott said he anticipates that the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees will hold markups and vote on the bill before the end of December. By the time Congress determines a bill, he believes both committees will act quickly, and the bill may cross the Senate floor at the beginning of 2026. 

The bill needs to be approved by both committees, as it covers both the securities and commodity rules. This includes clearly distinguishing between matters under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and those under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). 

Scott said the legislation would help protect U.S. consumers, offer legal clarity for the crypto industry, and bolster the U.S. economy. He cast the bill as a milestone toward securing America’s worldwide economic supremacy for the next century. Scott also discussed the political conflicts that have hindered progress.

He held Democrats responsible for previous delays and claimed they stalled the bill over the summer. Scott had hoped to pass the legislation in September, but was unable to do so. 

The Democrats didn’t want a policy victory for President Trump, he said. But Scott contended that the bill is not a matter of party politics, stating that it’s for the American people. His remarks indicate a renewed effort by both parties to bring the same topic to the attention of a bipartisan public once again before the end of the year.

Bipartisan talks intensify

The Senate is creating its own crypto market structure rules after the House passed its CLARITY Act earlier this year. The House bill focuses on establishing the scope for dividing digital securities and commodity assets. Additionally, it establishes a common language like that. 

Under Scott’s direction, the Senate Banking Committee is also adopting this line of attack to make its own rules on what constitutes a crypto market structure. Its draft would outline the separate jurisdictional issues between the SEC and CFTC.

Additionally, the proposal would establish a new category of “ancillary assets,” which would include cryptocurrencies. These classes of assets should not be treated as securities. However, Republicans require Democratic support to advance the bill — and that support remains uncertain. Negotiations between the two sides have been going on for weeks. The escalation of fighting began after a six-page Democratic proposal was leaked. 

The draft heavily involved regulating decentralized finance (DeFi), giving a tighter oversight to the Treasury Department and other financial regulators. The leaked Democratic document suggested establishing a standard for when an entity or individual exercises control or sufficient influence, a measure that many in the crypto industry thought was overly strict. 

Other industry voices suggested that the proposal could effectively ban DeFi by holding decentralized platforms legally responsible for user activity. Following the backlash, Senate Democrats and Republicans convened separate meetings with representatives from the crypto industry to address their concerns. 

They featured representatives of top blockchain companies, policy organizations, and industry advocacy groups. The Democratic meeting was attended by Kristin Smith, president of the Solana Policy Institute. 

Some Democrats are motivated to make a deal and want to get this done, according to Kristin Smith, indicating that bipartisan cooperation is still possible. But important disagreements persist — particularly about DeFi, enforcement powers, and the SEC’s role.

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