Crypto bills stall in Congress for second day

The future of a trio of crypto regulation bills was in limbo late Wednesday, after the second day in a row that conservative Republicans in the U.S. House tanked a key vote to advance the legislation. 

Fresh opposition emerged earlier in the day from a new bloc of House Republicans who objected to last-minute changes that were going to be made to appease the original conservative hold-outs from the day before.

Negotiations are ongoing, but as of 4:30 PM more than half a dozen Republicans had voted with all Democrats against letting two of the regulation bills proceed in their current forms.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R.-La., can only lose three Republican votes and still pass the measures in a party line, assuming all members are present.

The stalemate has fueled doubts whether the House Republican conference can align its differing views on crypto regulation enough to advance bills that, by and large, enjoy broadbased support.

Wednesday’s new stumbles also raise questions about the limits of Trump’s influence over members of the party he leads.

The second attempt to pass the rules — a necessary step to allow debate — comes after 11th hour negotiations and President Donald Trump’s intervention on Tuesday evening to get another group of hold-outs on board. 

Trump met in the Oval Office late Tuesday evening with about a dozen conservative Republicans. Afterwards, he said, they had “all agreed to vote” in favor of the rule, according to a late-night Truth Social post.

For the crypto industry it was a sharp letdown, and threatened to dash any hopes of getting crypto legislation passed during what had been billed as “Crypto Week.” 

The new opposition on Wednesday came from lawmakers on key committees who had authored the legislation – not just the conservative hardliners.

Members of the Committee on Financial Services, for instance, opposed some of the last-minute tweaks made by leadership to merge two of the bills, according to POLITICO. 

The three bills in question include one, the GENIUS Act, which passed the Senate last month, and two others that are moving through the House first: The CLARITY Act and a bill that would bar the Federal Reserve from establishing a central bank digital currency.

Deals are still being hammered out, and Republican leadership is considering an alternative plan: tacking the ban on central bank digital currency onto an unrelated “must-pass” bill, Punchbowl reports.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.