Senate Banking Committee Postpones Crypto Market Structure Bill

The highly controversial crypto market structure bill has been postponed by the US Senate Banking Committee.

Senate Banking Committee chairman Tim Scott announced on Thursday that the markup of the digital asset market legislation, originally scheduled for today, has been postponed.

“I’ve spoken with leaders across the crypto industry, the financial sector, and my Democratic and Republican colleagues, and everyone remains at the table working in good faith,” he said.

“The goal is to deliver clear rules of the road that protect consumers, strengthen our national security, and ensure the future of finance is built in the United States.”

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Senator Cynthia Lummis told Bloomberg on Wednesday that the markup for the controversial legislation was likely to be delayed. There was no date specified for the markup of the CLARITY Act, but industry observers think it will happen before the end of the month.

I’ve spoken with leaders across the crypto industry, the financial sector, and my Democratic and Republican colleagues, and everyone remains at the table working in good faith.

As we take a brief pause before moving to a markup, this market structure bill reflects months of…

— Senator Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 15, 2026

Coinbase Pulls Support

Many observers were blaming the banks for intervening and pushing for changes that prevent or limit users from earning yields on stablecoins.

This has become a huge point of contention for companies such as Coinbase, which pulled support for the bill this week.

“After reviewing the Senate Banking draft text over the last 48 hours, Coinbase unfortunately can’t support the bill as written,” said Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong on Wednesday.

“Regulatory clarity that shrinks investor upside isn’t progress,” commented macroeconomics outlet Milk Road.

“Brian is pointing out the cost embedded in this draft. Yes, it clarifies who regulates crypto. But it does so by banning stablecoin yield, narrowing tokenized asset pathways, and expanding surveillance in DeFi.”

“We are at the table and will continue to move forward with fair debate. I remain optimistic that issues can be resolved through the markup process,” commented Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.

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Bitcoin Beats a Minor Retreat

Bitcoin hit a two-month high of $97,700 in late trading on Thursday before beating a retreat as the news of the delayed legislation markup broke.

The asset had slid to $96,500 at the time of writing but was still up marginally on the day and up over 5.5% on the week.