The US Senate Agriculture Committee, one of the two committees in the Senate working on legislation for forming a framework around digital assets, is anticipated to unveil its new bill draft by the end of the day on Wednesday.

Chair John Boozman mentioned last week the committee’s aim to align its digital asset market structure legislation with the House’s Digital Asset Markets Clarity (CLARITY) Act framework, with a public markup hearing set for the following Tuesday.

Despite this, there has been little communication from the committee since Coinbase withdrew its support for the legislation last week.

Some Senate Democrats have been advocating for stricter measures on decentralized finance as part of the market regulation bill. This uncertainty, especially with Coinbase’s withdrawal and worries over the stipulations regarding conflicts of interest and stablecoin bonuses, raises questions about whether these legislative efforts can gain the necessary support to pass.

“There will be a crypto market structure bill — it’s a question of when, not if,” Patrick Witt, a crypto adviser at the White House, stated in a recent post. “It’s unrealistic to think that a multi-trillion dollar industry could function indefinitely without a robust regulatory framework.”

As of publishing, Boozman had not provided clarity on how delays in the banking committee’s markup might impact progress within the agriculture committee. Both committees will need to finalize their respective versions of the bill to proceed with a vote in the Senate.

In related developments, US President Donald Trump expressed intentions to endorse the market legislation shortly, amidst reports of ongoing discussions with Coinbase regarding the matter.

Will Upcoming Elections Impact Market Structure?

The upcoming midterm elections in November could potentially shift control back to the Democrats in both the House of Representatives and Senate. Although the elections are several months away, speculation is rife that these campaigns might hinder the passage of the digital asset bill.

Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina indicated that legislators may only have until early January or February to pass crypto regulations, considering the impending elections. For the bill to succeed, it is likely that some bipartisan support will be necessary.