Crypto Market Structure Bill Could Pass the Senate This Year – Here Is the Timeline

Senator Cynthia Lummis announced on March 18 that the Senate Banking Committee expects to hold a hearing and markup vote on a comprehensive crypto market structure bill in late April 2026, following the Easter recess, with negotiations on the bill’s most contested provisions now described as near-final.

Where the Negotiations Stand

According to The Block, Lummis characterized the remaining differences as matters of nuance. That framing is meaningful given where the bill was three months ago. The January 2026 markup session was cancelled after Coinbase withdrew its support over concerns about DeFi treatment and stablecoin yield provisions. Both issues have since been addressed, according to Lummis, who stated the DeFi questions have been put to bed.

The stablecoin yield compromise is the most technically specific development. New bill language will avoid banking product terminology and will not permit rewards that are economically equivalent to traditional deposit yields. That language is designed to satisfy bank lobbyists who have pushed back against stablecoin issuers offering interest-bearing products that compete directly with insured deposit accounts. It represents a concession from the crypto side on yield mechanics in exchange for forward movement on the broader bill.

What the Bill Does

The legislation aims to formally define the jurisdictional boundary between the SEC and the CFTC for digital assets. The central question is which assets qualify as securities and which qualify as commodities. That distinction determines which regulator has oversight authority and which legal framework applies to issuers, exchanges, and intermediaries.

The bill’s House-passed version is referred to as the Clarity Act. The Senate version must be reconciled with it before reaching the President’s desk.

The Legislative Path and the Midterm Clock

The timeline from here involves several sequential steps. The Senate Banking Committee markup is targeted for late April. That version must then be merged with the version passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee, which holds separate jurisdiction over commodity markets. A unified Senate bill then requires a full chamber vote, which Lummis expects to occur before the end of 2026. A reconciled House-Senate version would then go to President Trump for signature.

Senator Bernie Moreno put a harder deadline on the process. If the bill does not pass by May, Moreno warned it likely will not pass for the foreseeable future. The 2026 midterm elections will consume legislative bandwidth in the second half of the year, and any bill that misses the pre-recess window faces a compressed and uncertain path through a politically distracted chamber.

That midterm pressure is the structural constraint the April markup is designed to beat. Lummis framing the remaining issues as nuance, rather than substance, suggests the political will exists to move. Whether the committee holds that timeline depends on whether the compromises already reached survive contact with the full membership during markup.

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