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100+ Crypto Organizations Urge U.S. Senate to Advance Market Structure Bill

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A coalition of 115 crypto builders, investors, and advocates has sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees demanding that any market structure bill include robust protections for software developers and non-custodial service providers. The coordinated appeal, published by the DeFi Education Fund on August 27, 2025, marks one of the largest unified industry pushes aimed at shaping federal crypto legislation before it reaches a full Senate vote.

Why the Coalition’s Conditional Support Changes the Story

The headline figure of “over 100” organizations masks a critical detail: the coalition is not offering blanket endorsement of the Senate’s market structure efforts. The DeFi Education Fund coalition letter states that 115 signatories joined the appeal, though separate reporting from Blockworks placed the count at 112 organizations.

Coalition Signatories
115
Organizations and advocates tied to the DEF-backed appeal.
DeFi Education Fund said 115 crypto builders, investors, and advocates signed the coalition letter sent to the Senate committees.

The distinction matters. The coalition explicitly stated: “Without such protections, we cannot support a market structure bill.” That language frames the letter not as encouragement but as a conditional ultimatum, tying industry backing to specific legislative guardrails around self-custody and developer liability.

This kind of coordinated pressure from over 100 organizations is rare in crypto policy circles. It signals that the industry is willing to walk away from legislation it has long demanded if the final text does not preserve core principles around permissionless development, a stance that echoes tensions between institutional players and decentralization advocates seen in other recent policy debates.

Two Senate Tracks, One Unresolved Framework

The coalition’s letter targets two committees because the Senate market structure process is split across parallel legislative tracks. The Senate Banking Committee, led by Senator Cynthia Lummis, released a market structure discussion draft on July 22, 2025, explicitly building on the House-passed CLARITY Act.

Senator Lummis framed the effort directly: “The time for regulatory uncertainty in the digital asset space has come to an end.”

On the Agriculture Committee side, S.3755, the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders, Calendar No. 312, on February 2, 2026. That bill addresses commodity-side oversight of digital assets, creating a separate regulatory lane from the Banking Committee’s securities-focused draft.

The two tracks must eventually be reconciled before any unified market structure bill can reach a full Senate vote. Legal analysis from Latham & Watkins has noted that the Banking draft still needs to advance through committee markup and then be harmonized with the Agriculture track, a process that could take months.

The House Already Moved, Now the Senate Is the Bottleneck

The urgency behind the coalition letter is tied to the legislative timeline. The House passed H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, on July 17, 2025, by a bipartisan 294-134 vote. The bill was received in the Senate on September 18, 2025.

The White House has also signaled alignment. On July 30, 2025, the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets recommended that Congress build on the House CLARITY vote and enact a fit-for-purpose market structure framework.

With both the executive branch and a bipartisan House majority aligned on the need for legislation, the Senate remains the critical gatekeeper. The coalition’s letter is calibrated to influence the drafting process before committee markups lock in the bill’s final language, particularly on provisions that could impose registration or compliance obligations on open-source developers and non-custodial wallet providers.

What the Industry Is Actually Asking For

The coalition’s demands center on “robust nationwide protections for software developers and non-custodial service providers.” In practical terms, this means the signatories want legislative language ensuring that writing code for decentralized protocols does not trigger broker, exchange, or money transmitter obligations.

This is not an abstract concern. Enforcement actions and regulatory interpretations over the past two years have created uncertainty about whether DeFi front-end operators, smart contract deployers, and wallet developers face liability under existing securities or money transmission frameworks. The coalition argues that without explicit safe harbors, innovation will move offshore.

The conditional framing also reflects a strategic calculation. By publicly stating they “cannot support” a bill without these protections, the 115 signatories are creating political cover for sympathetic lawmakers to insist on developer-friendly amendments during markup. The approach mirrors broader industry efforts to shape policy rather than simply react to it.

Market Backdrop: Cautious Sentiment as Policy Debate Unfolds

The legislative push comes during a period of cautious market sentiment. Bitcoin traded near $77,392 at the time of the research snapshot, down roughly 1% over 24 hours, while the Fear & Greed Index sat at 46, in “Fear” territory.

Bitcoin Market Proxy
$77,392
Research-brief market snapshot for broader crypto sentiment.
Bitcoin traded near $77,392 in the research snapshot, giving the policy story a current market backdrop. Source: CoinGecko.

Market participants have long argued that regulatory clarity is a prerequisite for sustained institutional capital inflows. The split Senate process and the coalition’s conditional stance suggest that clarity remains months away, a dynamic that may be contributing to the subdued sentiment. For firms evaluating U.S. operations, the question is whether the final bill protects builders or imposes obligations that push technical innovation to more permissive jurisdictions.

FAQ

What is the crypto market structure bill?

It refers to proposed federal legislation that would establish clear rules for how digital assets are classified, traded, and regulated in the United States. The House passed its version, the CLARITY Act, in July 2025. The Senate is now working on its own framework through two committee tracks.

Why are crypto organizations urging the Senate now?

The Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees are drafting their versions of market structure legislation. The coalition of 115 signatories is pressing for developer and non-custodial protections to be included before committee markups finalize the bill text. Their support is conditional on those protections.

What could Senate action mean for the crypto industry?

A completed market structure law would replace the current patchwork of enforcement-driven regulation with a statutory framework. For exchanges, issuers, and DeFi protocols, it would clarify registration requirements, jurisdictional boundaries between the SEC and CFTC, and whether building open-source software triggers compliance obligations.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.

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Avatar of Liam Zhang

Liam Zhang

23 April 2026, 11:04:41 GMT +0000

Liam Zhang is a cryptocurrency researcher with over 8 years of experience in blockchain reporting, digital currency education, and crypto content strategy. He breaks down complex topics like trading volumes, stablecoins, and token flows into simple, useful content. At Coincu.com, he shares clear, SEO-friendly guides and market updates for both new and experienced crypto readers.

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