Back to Work: Congress Races to Finalize Crypto Legislation by August

Lawmakers return to Capitol Hill to tackle a regulatory framework for digital assets

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Crypto In America newsletter!

In this edition: Lawmakers are back on the Hill after a two-week recess, and crypto legislation is at the top of their agenda. Plus, a spicy industry letter addressed to White House Crypto and AI Czar David Sacks, and an interview with WisdomTree breaking down Friday’s SEC roundtable.

With just three months left until President Trump's August deadline for both stablecoin and market structure bills, both chambers have been hard at work over the Easter recess to meet the target.

On Friday, the House Financial Services Committee scheduled a joint hearing with the House Agriculture Committee for Tuesday, May 6, titled ‘American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets: A Blueprint for the 21st Century.’

It comes following Crypto In America’s interview with Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, French Hill (R-AR), who said a discussion draft of the new legislation and a hearing on the text will be coming in the 'next few weeks.’

Hill said House staffers 'spent a good part of Easter break seeking technical assistance from the industry, the SEC, and the CFTC' for the discussion draft which, he said, is an updated version of the ‘FIT21’ market structure bill that passed the House last year.

Senate staffers have also been hard at work over the recess drafting the upper chamber’s version of a market structure bill, which, according to two Senate aides, is set to incorporate elements from the 2022 Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act and the FIT21 bill.

Meanwhile, on the stablecoin front, the Senate's GENIUS Act and the House’s STABLE Act are awaiting debate time on the floor, with ongoing efforts to align the two bills into a single version that can pass both chambers.

“There are still some differences, but we’ll work those out as we go along,” Hill said.

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Industry Leaders Launch Petition Urging Trump to Rein in DOJ’s War on Open-Source Crypto Devs

On Monday morning, a group of industry leaders, led by the advocacy group DeFi Education Fund, sent a letter to President Trump’s Crypto and AI Czar, David Sacks, urging the White House to halt the Justice Department’s prosecution of open-source software developers

The letter, signed by Paradigm’s Matt Huang, Alana Palmedo, and Katie Biber, along with DeFi Education Fund’s Amanda Tuminelli and Jenn Rosenthal, has also been launched as a petition, allowing supporters to sign either traditionally or anonymously using a crypto wallet.

At the heart of the letter is Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, a developer being prosecuted by the Southern District of New York under what critics call an ‘unprecedented’ and ‘novel’ legal theory: holding developers criminally liable for how bad actors use their code — even when they have no control over those users’ actions or assets.

“No one writing code in good faith should have to fear prosecution for the actions of strangers,” the letter agues.

The missive also highlights a contradiction with existing Treasury Department guidance — in place since 2019 — which clarifies that self-custodial, peer-to-peer protocol developers are not considered money transmitters.

Earlier this month, the DOJ clarified that it will not continue the previous administration’s approach of holding software developers accountable for the actions of bad actors on their platforms, nor will it attempt to regulate digital assets through enforcement.

Despite this, the SDNY’s prosecution of Storm is moving forward, with a trial set for July 2025. It remains unclear whether the new acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, Jay Clayton— a pro-crypto lawyer and former SEC chairman under Trump— will intervene in Storm’s case.

"We are grateful for President Trump's support of this industry,” the letter concluded. “His stated goal to make America the 'crypto capital of the planet' cannot be realized if developers are prosecuted for building the very tools that enable this innovation."

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Insights from the SEC’s Latest Crypto Roundtable

The SEC’s Crypto Task Force held its third industry roundtable on Friday, focusing on issues related to the custody of digital assets for broker-dealers and investment advisers.

Crypto In America spoke with attendee Ryan Louvar, Chief Legal Officer and Head of Business and Legal Affairs for Digital Assets at WisdomTree, one of Wall Street’s leading asset managers.

What were your main takeaways from the roundtable?

I thought the roundtable was extremely productive. It was clear that the SEC—under new leadership—is serious about re-engaging with the industry and thinking practically about how digital assets, blockchain, and tokenization fit into the regulatory framework. The hard work being done by the SEC’s Crypto Task Force was on display in organizing a thoughtful and balanced set of discussions, and in creating an environment that encouraged real dialog. I was thankful to be invited and to be part of that dialog. The diversity of perspectives among the panelists made for a rich and honest exchange. It was encouraging to see both a recognition of the potential of digital assets and tokenization, and a strong focus on maintaining investor protections—consistent with the broader goal of advancing responsible finance innovation.

Were there any surprises?

I was pleasantly surprised by how open the conversation was to rethinking traditional regulatory assumptions, particularly around custody. Several panelists emphasized that custody frameworks for digital assets issued or maintained on blockchains may require fundamentally different approaches than those developed for traditional financial instruments. It was also encouraging to hear in the opening remarks a strong acknowledgment that blockchain technology holds the potential to improve efficiency, transparency, and risk mitigation—important considerations as regulation evolves to meet new market realities.

What was the core message you hope the SEC Crypto Task Force took away from the roundtable?

I hope viewers understood that safe, compliant innovation around digital assets, blockchain, and tokenization is possible—and that adapting custody and related structures is not about lowering protections. It's about applying time-tested principles like security, segregation, disclosure, and fiduciary responsibility to a new technological environment. Thoughtful regulation can support the development of Responsible DeFi while maintaining the high standards that have historically made U.S. markets a global model.

Where do we go from here?

I think the SEC has an important opportunity to build on the momentum from this roundtable by taking a phased approach—starting with targeted guidance and ultimately moving toward rulemaking that fully addresses the unique aspects of digital assets, blockchain technology, and tokenized financial products. Areas like clarifying how digital assets fit into the custody rule, creating structured pathways for responsible self-custody, and enabling activities like staking and onchain governance without unnecessary regulatory friction are all important next steps.

At the roundtable, I highlighted that our New York trust company operates under one of the most rigorous regulatory frameworks in the country through the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), and qualifies as a "bank" under the custody framework for investment advisers. Adhering to these high standards shows that it is possible to combine strong innovation with equally strong investor protections. In addition, we have launched 13 tokenized funds—registered under the Investment Company Act and available across multiple blockchains—built within the SEC's existing regulatory framework. We have been working collaboratively with SEC staff to bring these innovations to market responsibly, and believe this engagement provides a model for how tokenization and blockchain-based finance can evolve within strong regulatory guardrails.

I appreciate the leadership and engagement from staff across the SEC’s divisions on these important issues. Continued collaboration between the SEC and industry participants will be critical to ensure regulation evolves alongside technology.

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