White House, senators eye September deadline for crypto framework

A White House adviser and two key senators said Thursday they are now hoping to pass legislation laying out oversight of the crypto industry by the end of September, pushing back an earlier August deadline. 

Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) offered up the new timeline for market structure legislation at a fireside chat alongside Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Bo Hines, executive director of President Trump’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets. 

“I want to set a timeline ... of seeing the market structure completed before the end of September,” Scott said Thursday. “I think that is a realistic expectation.” 

Lummis, who serves as chair of the Senate Banking subcommittee on digital assets, seemed prepared to meet the new deadline, saying they hope to put out draft legislation before Congress leaves for its August recess and hold a markup in September. 

Hines also confirmed the timeline, adding in a post on X, “As stated today, we are committed to getting market structure done by the end of September. Period.” 

The Trump administration and GOP leaders had previously been aiming to pass both market structure and stablecoin legislation before the August recess.  

The market structure legislation seeks to split up oversight of the digital asset market between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), while stablecoin legislation aims to create a regulatory framework for the dollar-backed cryptocurrencies. 

After the Senate passed its stablecoin bill, known as the GENIUS Act, last week, Trump urged the House to quickly send the measure to his desk without major changes.  

However, his push runs counter to an effort by some in the industry and Congress, who hoped to tie the stablecoin and market structure bills together amid concerns that a second lone crypto bill could lose momentum.  

“I've been very clear that I think the president's mandate of moving GENIUS Act immediately to his desk is in the best interest of the American people,” Scott said Thursday. 

“What they're concerned about is not getting market structure done fast enough,” he added. “And I believe that we can do both in a very time-sensitive manner, and that is why I've committed to a deadline that will be reached.”