A U.S. government shutdown lasting days or weeks could further delay the Senate’s actions on a crypto market structure bill that was passed by the House in July.
Unless Republicans negotiate with Democrats and sign off on a bipartisan funding bill, the U.S. government will shut down at midnight on Tuesday. This will likely delay any consideration of a digital asset market structure bill in the Senate.
On Monday, U.S. House of Representatives and Senate leaders are scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump to negotiate terms to avoid a government shutdown. Though they hold the majority in both chambers of Congress, additional support is needed by Republicans to pass a temporary funding bill to keep the government open. This has led to Democrats asking for a reversal in many of the healthcare cuts from a budget bill signed into law in July, also known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill.”
Shutdown Threatens to Stall Crypto Bill as Lawmakers Shift Focus to Government Funding
A shutdown would effectively stop U.S. lawmakers from considering or voting on any bills currently moving through Congress, including having them signed into law by Trump. It would also likely halt any regulatory actions from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
This would mean that consideration of the digital asset market structure bill in the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, already pushed from the end of September to October, could be subject to additional delays.
Since the Reagan administration in the 1980s, partial or complete government shutdowns over policy disputes have occurred. However, Trump holds the record for being at the helm during the longest one in U.S. history: 35 days in 2018 and 2019, over his plan to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall. During a shutdown, the priorities of lawmakers would likely shift to continuing to fund the government rather than any unrelated bills like crypto market structure.
Key Takeaways from Ongoing Negotiations
Last week, it was said by Trump that “no meeting with [Democratic] Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive” to avoid a potential shutdown. The White House later issued a statement suggesting that the president would not be open to any negotiations. However, Trump is set to meet with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Monday.
In a Sunday interview, it was said by Thune that Republicans had a “simple, seven-week funding resolution” that would temporarily extend funding for the government through November. The characterization of the measure as a “clean bill” was pushed back on by Jeffries last week, who said that it did nothing to address Democrats’ call to reverse healthcare cuts in the July spending bill.
The market structure bill in the Senate, also known as the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, is expected to build upon the CLARITY Act that was passed by the House in July. This new bill would clarify the roles the CFTC and SEC would have in overseeing digital assets.
Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the bill’s most significant Republican proponents, initially planned to have it passed by the banking committee by the end of September. It was suggested by reports that the committee had pushed consideration to late October, and a government shutdown could further delay this timeline.
Should negotiations fail and neither side agree to a funding bill, the U.S. government will be shut down at midnight on Tuesday.
