The Senate is racing toward a September finish line for crypto rules. But with the House stuck at the starting block, this legislative marathon might take longer than anyone expected.
At a Thursday press briefing, Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott laid down a new target for completing crypto market structure legislation: September 30. Flanked by Senator Cynthia Lummis and President Trump’s digital asset advisor Bo Hines, Scott said he believes the timeline is “realistic,” even if it pushes beyond the president’s preferred August deadline.
But while the Senate appears unified, the House remains conspicuously silent, with Financial Services Chair French Hill refusing to commit to the same schedule, signaling a potential roadblock ahead.
Is Washington’s crypto consensus falling apart?
Behind Senator Scott’s confident September deadline lies a widening rift between congressional chambers. While the Senate Banking Committee moves with unusual coordination, even securing buy-in from digital assets skeptic Sherrod Brown on key provisions, House Financial Services Chair French Hill has maintained radio silence on whether his chamber will play ball.
Even within the House, where the Clarity Act has advanced through key committees, there’s little clarity on whether leadership will embrace the Senate’s GENIUS Act or continue to push its own version of stablecoin legislation.
The Senate’s GENIUS Act, passed last week with rare bipartisan support, would impose Federal Reserve-backed reserve requirements and block tech giants like Amazon from issuing tokens.
But Hill’s competing bill, already cleared by House committees, carves out authority for state regulators and offers more flexibility for foreign issuers. These aren’t minor technical differences; they represent a philosophical clash over whether crypto belongs under Washington’s thumb or gets a decentralized regulatory approach.
There’s also political calculus at play. President Trump’s call for an August signing deadline adds pressure, but it doesn’t alter the procedural hurdles. Even if the Senate finalizes its draft by September, reconciling it with House proposals could stretch into late fall.
For all the urgency projected from the Senate podium, the path to actual crypto legislation remains uncertain. The political choreography between chambers, committees, and competing visions has yet to sync.
The longer this drags on, the more ground U.S. markets lose. The EU’s MiCA framework is already reshaping global stablecoin flows, while Asia’s crypto hubs are capitalizing on America’s regulatory paralysis. Every delayed vote, every unresolved dispute over state versus federal oversight, pushes another wave of innovation offshore.
