What happened? — Top crypto CEOs are meeting with Senate Democrats to try to restart stalled market-structure talks.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is hosting a roundtable with major crypto executives from firms like Coinbase, Chainlink, Ripple, Uniswap and others to push stalled US crypto market structure legislation back onto the agenda. The meeting comes as Democrats and Republicans are drafting competing regulatory frameworks and negotiations have slowed in Congress. Industry and some regulators are engaging directly as lawmakers weigh token classification, jurisdiction between the SEC and CFTC, and rules for DeFi and trading venues.
Who does this affect? — The meeting touches exchanges, DeFi projects, token issuers, investors and regulators alike.
Major crypto companies and their leadership are directly involved, but the outcome would also shape how exchanges, market makers, custodians and DeFi protocols operate. Retail and institutional investors could see changes to disclosures, listing standards and legal risk for different tokens depending on how securities vs. commodity rules are drawn. Regulators (SEC, CFTC), policymakers, and even mining firms under national-security scrutiny are indirectly affected by any shift in jurisdiction or new compliance rules.
Why does this matter? — A clearer market-structure law would cut regulatory uncertainty and could meaningfully affect prices, liquidity and institutional adoption.
If Congress reaches a workable framework that clarifies which tokens are securities and which fall under the CFTC, markets could see less legal risk, more institutional participation, and improved liquidity. Conversely, continued delay or restrictive rules could keep volatility high, deter investment and slow innovation in DeFi and token projects. Because talks are partisan and may slip past midterms, the timing and content of any law will be a key driver of market sentiment and business planning over the next year.