GOP Staffers Plan to Work Through Easter Recess on Crypto Legislation
Republicans determined to meet Trump’s August deadline for sending crypto bills to his desk
Welcome to the Monday edition of the Crypto In America newsletter!
We’re kicking off the week with a look at Congress buckling down on crypto legislation, the potential for President Trump to make so-called recess appointments during the Easter break, the Securities and Exchange Commission directing staff to reassess prior crypto guidance, and a preview of what's happening this week in Washington.
Republican lawmakers and their staffers will have their noses to the grindstone this week, focusing on aligning the House and Senate stablecoin bills and advancing market structure legislation ahead of the Easter recess. Staffers are also preparing to continue their legislative efforts throughout the holiday to ensure they are ready for potential floor time when they return.
Plus, time is ticking down to the deadline President Trump set for Congress: to have both stablecoin and market structure legislation on his desk by August.
It’s unclear when the Senate’s GENIUS Act or the House’s STABLE Act will move to their respective chamber floors for debate. However, according to several crypto lobbyists and congressional staffers, the last week of April—when both houses return from recess—could be an ideal time for the bills to be brought up for a vote.
In the meantime, staffers in both chambers are focused on market structure legislation, the next key hurdle Congress will address in establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets.
The House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Digital Assets is set to hold its first market structure hearing on Wednesday.
Could Trump Help Speed Up the Legislative Process?
If President Trump chooses, he could use the Easter recess to his advantage by making so-called “recess appointments” to fill key positions at agencies that have authority over digital assets.
While the move could generate controversy, it would mean the pro-crypto president could fill agency positions with his preferred candidates without having to wait for Senate approval.
How would it work?
If Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) opts not to hold a pro forma session (a meeting that technically keeps Congress in session during a recess), President Trump could bypass the Senate’s confirmation process and make recess appointments. This would allow him to fill vacant positions at agencies that regulate digital assets without needing Senate approval. For example, Trump could directly appoint crypto-friendly candidates like Paul Atkins and Brian Quintenz to the SEC and CFTC, as well as appoint independent commissioners to the open seats at both agencies.
While controversial, such appointments would allow Trump to place pro-crypto figures in key regulatory positions, avoiding potential opposition from Senate Democrats.
"If Trump fills some of those agency positions during recess, the regulators who deal with crypto would be at full capacity,” one D.C. lobbyist explained. “It would complete the White House crypto working group, enabling it to quickly provide recommendations to Congress and input on the market structure bill."
It’s unclear whether Thune will opt for a pro-forma session, and making recess appointments comes with some drawbacks, the biggest being that recess appointments are temporary, typically lasting only until the end of the next Senate session. To continue serving, the appointee must receive Senate confirmation for a full term beyond that.
Acting SEC Chair Uyeda Directs Staff to Review Previous Crypto Guidance
The Securities and Exchange Commission, under the direction of Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda, is looking to provide further regulatory clarity for the crypto industry.
On Saturday, the SEC’s X account announced that Uyeda had directed agency staff to review at least five prior statements relating to digital assets that should be modified or rescinded in alignment with the agency’s current priorities.
One piece of guidance under review is the 2019 "Framework for Investment Contract Analysis of Digital Assets," which partially relied on a 2018 speech by then-Corporation Finance Director Bill Hinman. In that speech, Hinman stated that a key factor in determining whether the Howey Test (the SEC’s litmus test for determining whether an asset is a security) applied to digital assets was the level of centralization or decentralization of the network and the asset itself, rather than how the token was sold.
Crypto participants have argued that informal statements from agency officials, such as Hinman’s speech, have caused confusion in the markets and contributed to regulatory uncertainty. Other guidance under review relates to disclosure requirements, risk assessments and custody standards regarding digital assets.
What’s Happening in Washington this Week?
This is the final full week before Congress takes a two-week break for the Easter recess. Here’s what we’re watching:
The Senate is poised to begin the process of confirming incoming SEC Chair Paul Atkins. A procedural 'motion to proceed' vote to advance his nomination to the Senate floor is set for this week. Atkins' nomination passed out of the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, though it received no support from Democratic members.
President Trump could sign Congress’s joint resolution repealing the IRS DeFi broker rule into law this week. The bill, which passed the Senate on March 26, has been sent to the White House. Once signed, it will become the first crypto-related bill to be enacted into law.
Monday
The deadline for all federal agencies to report their crypto holdings to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is Monday, according to a White House official. This directive is part of President Trump’s Executive Order from March 6th, which established a strategic Bitcoin reserve and a digital asset stockpile. However, the Executive Order did not require the audit findings to be made public, only that they be reported to Bessent. It remains unclear whether or when the findings will be made public.
Wednesday
The House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Digital Assets will hold its first market structure hearing on Wednesday at 10:00 AM EST. The hearing will explore which digital asset activities are impacted by U.S. securities laws, why current regulations may be insufficient, and how Congress can address these challenges by prioritizing market structure legislation
Witnesses include Rodrigo Seira, Special Counsel at Cooley LLP; Tiffany J. Smith, Partner and Co-Chair of the Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Working Group at WilmerHale; and Jake Werrett, Chief Legal Officer at Polygon.
The House Agriculture Committee , which oversees the CFTC, will hold its own hearing at 2:00 PM EST called “American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets: On-Chain Tools for an Off-Chain World.”
Witnesses set to testify include Georgetown Law Professor and crypto advocate Chris Brummer, Senior Counsel at blockchain software firm ConsenSys Bill Hughes, as well as representatives from GEODNET, a blockchain-based GPS alternative, and Cattleproof, a blockchain-based cattle tracker.
Thursday
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman will be in the hot seat before the Senate Banking Committee to testify on her suitability to become the Fed’s next vice chair for supervision. In this role, Bowman would play a key role in supervising and regulating banks' crypto-related activities. Industry watchers are expecting this hearing to be spicy, with plenty of questions from the GOP on debanking, the Fed’s stance on digital assets, and the fallout from Trump’s tariffs, as well as the role the Fed will play in addressing these issues.
Friday
The SEC’s Crypto Task Force will hold the second of five industry roundtables on crypto regulation. This roundtable, titled Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading, will focus on adapting regulation for crypto trading and will feature a moderator and nine panelists from major crypto trading platforms like Coinbase, FalconX and Cumberland DRW.
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great to see the progress