A group of Democratic senators has signaled their support for a bipartisan solution to the ongoing debate surrounding crypto market structure legislation in the United States Congress. This move suggests a potential breakthrough in establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets.

On Friday, September 19, 2025, twelve Democratic senators, including members of the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee, issued a statement expressing their desire to collaborate with their Republican colleagues on drafting the crypto market structure bill. The senators emphasized the importance of bipartisan authorship, stating that it is the norm for legislation of this scale. They expressed hope that Republicans would agree to "reasonable requests to allow for true collaboration," given their shared interest in addressing the issue quickly.

This announcement follows the unveiling of a seven-pillar framework for regulating U.S. crypto markets by the same group of Democratic senators. This framework set the stage for bipartisan discussions as Republicans continue to develop their draft of the Clarity Act, which has already been passed by the House of Representatives. The Democrats are seeking a more significant role in shaping the legislation, rather than simply providing comments on a bill drafted solely by the GOP. They are also advocating for closer coordination with the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The Democratic framework centers on seven key pillars designed to close oversight gaps and restore investor confidence. A central tenet of the proposal is granting the CFTC complete jurisdiction over spot markets for digital commodities that do not qualify as securities. This would resolve the existing regulatory ambiguity between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The framework also proposes dual regulatory approaches, empowering the SEC to integrate tokenized securities into existing disclosure regimes while directing the CFTC to police non-security digital assets.

The Republican-led bill calls for the SEC and CFTC to establish a joint committee to provide recommendations on regulatory harmonization between the two agencies, which have historically taken different approaches to digital assets. Meanwhile, the Democratic framework would grant the CFTC new powers over spot markets for non-security tokens and create a process to determine when the SEC can regulate a token as a security.

The Senate Banking Committee Republicans have indicated they are open to waiting until October 20 for input on the bill. Senator Tim Scott has acknowledged that bipartisan support is necessary to pass the bill, given the narrow majority in the Senate.

However, securing floor time in the Senate may prove challenging due to the need to address the annual defense policy bill, appropriations legislation, and the confirmation of presidential nominees. Consequently, the passage of market structure legislation could potentially be delayed until 2026.