Senate Democrats Urge Bipartisan Action on Digital Asset Market Regulation

U.S. lawmakers are unleashing a bold push to regulate the booming digital asset market, calling for urgent bipartisan action to secure America’s leadership in crypto innovation and investor protection.

Senators Push for Bipartisan Digital Asset Regulation Framework

Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. Senate released a statement on Sept. 19 calling for a coordinated effort to advance digital asset regulation, stressing the need for bipartisan cooperation in crafting new market structure legislation. The group included Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Mark Warner of Virginia, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Adam Schiff of California, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland. They argued that the $4 trillion global digital asset market requires a considered and balanced policy approach.

“We hope our Republican colleagues will agree to a bipartisan authorship process, as is the norm for legislation of this scale,” the statement reads, adding:

Given our shared interest in moving forward quickly on this issue, we hope they will agree to reasonable requests to allow for true collaboration. For this process to work, it must start from a place of mutual understanding.

“We look forward to engaging with our Republican counterparts in such a manner,” the senators added. Their statement underscored the urgency of moving swiftly, while emphasizing that successful regulation depends on cooperation across party lines.

The senators had previously released a framework detailing seven priorities for legislation. These include closing gaps in the spot market for non-security tokens, defining digital assets in law, and clarifying regulator jurisdiction. Additional provisions would integrate issuers and trading platforms into existing oversight systems, implement controls against illicit finance, address corruption and abuse, and create fair and effective rules for the sector. Critics worry that extensive regulation could stifle innovation, while proponents argue that regulatory clarity would boost consumer protections and support responsible development of blockchain technology.