Crypto's Half-finished Legislative Agenda Teeters as CEOs Set Meeting With Democrats

There is a growing sense that 2025 will be a bust for the long-awaited U.S. legislation to establish a fully regulated crypto sector, but negotiations in the Senate can at least build momentum again, according to the sentiments of those set to speak with Senate Democrats this week.

Crypto leaders such as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov, Uniswap's Hayden Adams and Solana Policy Institute President Kristin Smith are preparing to meet with as many as 10 Democratic senators, according to the expectations of people involved with the event, though the plans weren't yet finalized.

The Wednesday meeting, also set to include the chiefs of Kraken and Galaxy Digital and execs from a16z Crypto and Circle, will seek to move forward from some controversial discussion language that recently emerged from the Democratic side. The decentralized finance (DeFi) ideas outlined were seen as unworkable by industry insiders, threatening the negotiations over the crypto market structure bill that would set rules and government oversight for U.S. crypto markets.

The crypto chiefs hope to "get market structure legislation back on track and ensure that communications with industry remain open," a spokeswoman from Chainlink said about the meeting, which was first reported by Crypto in America. "Dialogues like this are critical to making this a reality."

Earlier this year, Senators from both parties were optimistic about finishing the legislation and getting it to the desk of President Donald Trump, who already signed a bill into law that regulates U.S. issued stablecoins. While the House of Representatives already landed market structure legislation with its Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the Senate's progress has slowed as negotiations grew contentious and the federal government shut down for lack of an approved spending plan.

One of those planning to participate this week, Smith, said that "a productive dialogue between industry and policymakers is essential" to getting the market structure bill right.

Trump's earlier deadline of August passed by, followed by a Sept. 30 deadline set by Senator Tim Scott, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. As continually postponed plans for legislative markup dates slipped by, Senator Cynthia Lummis had recently offered the end of the year as a more realistic target, though others are less hopeful.

"The United States Senate will do their job," said Mannar Hanna, a former general counsel for Senator Scott who now works at APCO Worldwide, at a panel during DC Fintech Week. He joked that it pained him to admit the House had already done its own duty.

"I would say next year," Hanna predicted for market structure completion. "There's a lot on Congress' plate in the next couple of months."

Republican members have pushed forward a draft of the bill — their version of the House's Clarity Act. But Democrats have suggested a number of changes that need to be made before they can join.

In the end, "any durable policy must be bipartisan," said Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger, in a statement sent to CoinDesk on Monday.

Read More: Senate Democrats' Leaked Crypto Position Would Strangle DeFi, Industry Insiders Say

UPDATE (October 20, 2025, 18:52 UTC): Adds more company names as Senate meeting participants.

UPDATE (October 20, 2025, 22:37 UTC): Adds comments from crypto representatives.