Democrats and Republicans hosted dueling roundtables with crypto industry executives on Wednesday aimed at advancing crypto market structure legislation.
More than three months after the House passed the CLARITY Act, the bill has yet to make meaningful progress in the Senate. People familiar with Wednesday’s discussions said both sides voiced accusations.
Democratic lawmakers brought together by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Wednesday morning are increasingly frustrated with the cryptocurrency industry’s tendency to align itself with Republicans.
During the roundtable discussion, Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego told industry officials and Democrats, “Don’t be a pawn of the Republicans. They used a megaphone with all of you to screw us over,” according to two attendees.
Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, who hosted a group of Republicans and industry voices Wednesday afternoon, disagreed, saying Republicans are waiting for Democrats to come to the table.
A spokesperson for Sen. Scott told Blockworks, “Despite repeated requests from Democrats for edits and corrections, we have yet to receive any formal feedback or agreement on an increase date.”
The roundtable comes after Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee released a second discussion draft of the bill last month. In response, Democrats listed a list of principles they would like to include in the bill. Additional DeFi-focused Democratic proposals were leaked earlier this month, further deepening the rift between the two parties.
The industry’s public and widely negative reaction to the leaked documents derailed negotiations between Democrats and Republicans, people familiar with the matter told Blockworks. Democrats specifically warned industry officials that the reaction would hinder the bill’s progress, the person added.
Republicans on the committee originally intended to table the bill in late September, but delayed it “to allow our Democratic colleagues additional time to come to the table and substantively address the bill’s provisions,” the spokesperson added.
According to people familiar with the matter, Republicans have not ruled out raising prices as the government shutdown enters its fourth week.
Some Democrats remain concerned about President Trump and his family’s cryptocurrency business dealings, attendees said.
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