Senate Democrats to Meet Major Crypto Executives on October 22 to Discuss DeFi Regulation and Market Structure
- Senate Democrats will meet top crypto executives to restart talks on DeFi and market structure rules.
- A leaked DeFi proposal caused backlash and stalled bipartisan talks on crypto regulation in Congress.
- Key crypto firms and lawmakers will discuss clearer rules to avoid pushing innovation outside the US.
The U.S. crypto executives will hold a private roundtable meeting with Senate Democrats on October 22 in Washington, D.C. The session follows a stalled digital asset lawmakers initiative. The meeting will be dedicated to the self-sovereign finance (DeFi) regulation and the crypto market structure.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is the chairman of the debate. It will feature the executives of Coinbase, Chainlink, Ripple, Kraken, Uniswap, and other large crypto companies. The conference is regarded as one of the turning points of the current discussion between crypto actors and policy-making bodies.
Legislative Talks Face Roadblocks
A push to legalize crypto took a back seat when a Democratic DeFi bill was leaked earlier in the month. Republican legislators and industry leaders opposed the draft. The critics claimed that the framework would undermine development and innovation in the U.S.
A proposal had been earlier put forward by the senate republicans to separate crypto supervision between the SEC and CFTC. The plan also contained a language on the definition of non-security digital assets. Nevertheless, the new Democratic draft focused on regulating illegal activity via DeFi, which irritated both parties.
Negotiations between the two parties failed soon after the leakage. Legislators are now trying to revive the discussions by the year-end. The October 22 round table is considered to be a part of such a reset.
Key Participants and Agenda
Some of the executives that are expected to attend the meeting are Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov. Galaxy Digital, Ripple, Uniswap, Circle, and Kraken leaders are also going to be present.
Representatives of a16z Crypto, Jito, and the Solana Policy Institute are also present. These participants will talk about the prevailing regulatory gap and the danger of offshore movement in case of a lack of clarity.
The roundtable will focus on the definition of the decentralized protocols under U.S. law. It will also discuss the necessity of investor safeguards and jurisdictional clarity. Lawmakers and executives want to find a common ground on how to go about it.
Democrats Signal Renewed Engagement
Other pro-crypto democrats, including Senators Cory Booker, Mark Warner, and John Hickenlooper, will join Senator Gillibrand. These legislators have advocated for more concrete crypto regulation and greater CFTC oversight of digital assets. In September, these democratic Senators pushed for bipartisan crypto support on the Clarity Act.
The suggested leaked proposal has attracted concerns in the industry groups. They believe it may simply prohibit decentralized applications in the U.S. An industry coalition of more than 20 crypto firms mailed a letter to the legislators demanding the safeguarding of innovation. Earlier this year, the House Democrats proposed the MEME Act to ban U.S. officials from crypto activities.
The roundtable may shape the policy direction even though the introduction of a new bill has not been done at the moment. Policymakers are still under pressure to provide a viable structure before the 2025 legislative calendar sets in.
