The U.S. Senate’s market structure bill is likely to be enacted by the end of the year, as indicated by the lawmakers involved in this initiative, who stated that efforts on this legislation may extend past the previously set Sept. 30 deadline by the Senate Banking Committee chair.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), speaking at CoinDesk’s Policy and Regulation event in Washington, D.C. said, “I don’t wish to impose an artificial deadline on anything. We are currently negotiating whether we’ll have a bipartisan budget, making the fiscal cliff Congress’s top priority right now.”

The timing question has been pivotal in the discussions surrounding market structure, particularly after President Donald Trump originally aimed for an August deadline for all congressional crypto-related work to reach his desk. This optimistic timeline was then adjusted to the end of September, when Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott mentioned his desire for completion of the market structure work.

Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming who leads the panel’s crypto subcommittee, maintains that the deadline still holds for parts of the project. She expressed hope to complete the Banking Committee’s portion by then, noting the Senate Agriculture Committee will still be catching up in October. While earlier mentioning Thanksgiving as a target, she noted that it “might be overly ambitious.”

Lummis emphasized the importance of concluding this work by the year’s end, comparing it to the lengthy experience of pregnancy, saying, “Please, let it come to fruition.”

Ethics Concerns

Senate Democrats have released a set of priorities they wish to see integrated into any market structure legislation, focusing on consumer protection and regulatory jurisdiction.

Gillibrand stated, “This will illustrate that the effort is bipartisan. Democrats may have diverse views on topics like decentralized finance and consumer protection on- and off-ramps.”

One significant proposal from Democrats aims to prevent lawmakers, including the president and vice president’s families, from benefiting financially from crypto projects. Gillibrand noted the importance of an ethical dimension to avoid any appearance of self-interest or violation of the Emoluments Clause.

“This ethical perspective is crucial, as the lack of it undermines the entire industry,” said Gillibrand. However, she also mentioned that there currently isn’t a strict “line in the sand” for Democrats during negotiations and stressed her desire for robust ethics provisions.

Lummis expressed her preference for dealing with restrictions on crypto trading by elected officials as a separate initiative, proposing it could merge with regulations for securities and other investments, advocating that cryptocurrencies shouldn’t be afforded special treatment.

“It’s vital to converse with Democrats concerned about the current and future presidents’ participation,” she concluded.