With Trump taking office, it was expected that cryptocurrency laws would be passed quickly. But so far only stablecoins GENIUS, which concerns him, was able to become law. Aiming to bring clarity to markets CLARITY is still at the center of debate. We mentioned that the calendar should not be stretched in 2026, otherwise the law will not meet. It probably will.
Cryptocurrency Act of 2026
trump crypto coins He signed many relevant decrees, and the heads of institutions he appointed also made crypto-friendly moves. But none of these are greater than the law. The crypto-friendly SEC chairman leaves and someone like Gensler comes back, and then crypto policy returns to its former rigidity. Or Trump leaves and Harris comes and cancels all the decrees signed by Trump in favor of cryptocurrencies. But the law is not like that. Even though presidents leave, the laws remain.
Therefore, for long-term optimism in cryptocurrencies, we need to see the advancement of crypto-friendly laws. 2026 is the midterm election year and this year the election holiday will start early, so time is short.
Efforts to advance the market structure bill in the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee are still not at the desired point after months of negotiations. The bill, which is not moving forward with bipartisan support, is expected to be further delayed and not be delivered this year due to midterm elections.
Brian Gardner, Washington policy strategist at asset management and investment banking firm Stifel, said:
“We are in a midterm election year. The legislative period will end early.
“The bill has many issues that have yet to be resolved and does not have bipartisan support in the Senate… No one can say there is a good chance of passing the bill this year.”
Banks vs Crypto Industry
Lobbying is documentedly legal in America, and crypto is facing bank lobbyists. This is one of the reasons why the legislation has failed to advance in a bipartisan manner. The GENIUS stablecoin law passed by Congress in July included a provision banning stablecoin issuers from charging customers interest simply for holding dollar-backed digital tokens.
Since the law was passed, the banking industry has asked lawmakers to close this loophole in the market structure bill, arguing that the GENIUS Act leaves a “loophole” that allows third parties (exchanges?) to offer rewards to stablecoin holders. When the Senate Banking bill was published, the crypto community opposed the bill because banks had achieved their goal.
coinbase After making the announcement that stablecoin rewards were necessary, Scott postponed the markup indefinitely. According to Bloomberg, the Senate Banking Committee is currently shifting its focus to housing legislation and plans to return to the market structure bill in late February or March. Unless other priorities arise by then, of course.
Democrats want a political ethics law for cryptocurrencies to support it. This insistence GENIUS We have seen it before and this time they are determined. Both the process has been postponed to March and an agreement has not been reached yet. It may take 1-2 months for the bipartisan draft to be formed, for the draft to be voted on in the legislatures and for Trump’s approval.
The Congress will take its traditional summer break between August 10, 2026 and September 7, 2026. After this holiday (in September), Congress will reconvene for a short time (about 3-4 weeks) and this time will take a break for the midterm elections. So, between August 10 and November 6, the legislature will largely be inactive. That’s why time is short.
