US government shutdown complicates the advancement of cryptocurrency market structure bills

Jinse Finance reported that while last week's U.S. government shutdown may not completely disrupt the advancement of cryptocurrency legislation, according to industry insiders, it has undoubtedly had a negative impact. As Congress failed to reach an agreement on government funding, the government entered its second week of shutdown, forcing thousands of employees to take leave and severely restricting the operations of federal agencies. Just before this chaos occurred, lawmakers from the Senate Banking Committee were deeply engaged in drafting a bill aimed at comprehensively regulating the crypto industry, with plans to clarify regulatory authority over digital assets between the CFTC and SEC. Meanwhile, the Senate Agriculture Committee, which holds CFTC oversight, has yet to release their version of the bill. Typically, federal agency staff play a crucial advisory role during the legislative drafting process. However, with many staff members forced to take leave, Kristin Smith, President of the Solana Policy Institute, stated that this "may currently be the biggest setback," as the government shutdown has prevented them from continuing their involvement in related work.