President Donald Trump’s top cryptocurrency adviser is warning senators that next week could be the last chance Congress gets to accomplish the crypto industry’s top legislative priority — at least, for a while.
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Congress → warn → while
“I would say to everyone, Republican and Democrat: Get on the bill and let’s keep talking,” Patrick Witt, executive director of Trump’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, told Semafor this week ahead of a procedural vote on the crypto market structure bill next Tuesday.
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Witt → say → bill
“A failed motion-to-proceed vote doesn’t give anyone anything they want.”
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they → fail → anything
In fact, Witt said, it could mean years before Congress gets another stab at the measure.
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Congress → say → measure
Crypto firms have long fought for the proposal, which would divide oversight of the industry between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
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which → fight → Commission
“Who knows,” Witt said, when it might reach the floor again. If Democrats win even partial control of Congress this fall, the bill could see little progress for the rest of Trump’s term given the difficulty of accomplishing anything in divided government.
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bill → know → government
“The math is highly dependent upon how November turns out with midterm elections,” Witt said.
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Witt → turn → elections
“It’s tough to pass things in a lame-duck period; it’s tough to pass things towards the end of the administration.
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it → ’ → administration
“It’s not impossible, but certainly it gets a lot more complicated,” Witt added.
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Witt → ’ → ?
Republicans and Democrats, whose help is needed to pass the bill, have expressed concerns over provisions related to stablecoin yields and illicit finance.
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help → need → yields
But the biggest holdup is how the measure will rein in Trump’s ability to profit from digital assets after he made more than $1 billion from digital assets last year.
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he → rein → assets
There are “active” discussions, Witt said, about a bipartisan proposal from Sens. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., that would go further than one proposed by Republicans, including by forcing Trump to divest his crypto assets and allowing state attorneys general to ensure he complies.
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he → be → assets
But Witt declined to say whether officials have presented any new language to Trump, acknowledging it is “certainly possible” that the president ultimately refuses to make any additional concessions.
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president → decline → concessions
“If anyone thinks that … we can’t possibly pass that bill into law unless we have some draconian, state AG-enforced ethics provision
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we → think → law
— that’s unreasonable,” Witt said.
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Witt → ’ → ?
Those outstanding issues would be “the most natural places” for senators to adopt amendments, Witt said, in order to “get the bill across the finish line.”
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Witt → adopt → line
As for SEC and CFTC nominees that have yet to surface, the White House has “made clear” that it will start that process “as part of getting this bill done,” Witt said.
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Witt → have → part
“If you’re a Democrat, this is a reason to vote for this bill: If you want representation” as the agencies “move forward to write the rules for digital assets within the maximum bounds of authority,” Witt said.
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Witt → ’re → authority
“If it ultimately doesn’t pass, we’ll lick our wounds very quickly, and we’ll turn to the next chapter, which is an impressive rulemaking agenda in both agencies,” Witt, who left the door open to whether his council could dissolve once he takes military leave later this year, said later.
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he → pass → leave
He promised “aggressive rulemaking” in the absence of successful legislation.
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He → promise → legislation
The following partial transcript of Semafor’s interview with Patrick Witt, executive director of Trump’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, has been edited for length and clarity.
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transcript → follow → length
What do you see as the biggest hurdle to passage right now?
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you → see → passage
I spent a lot of my time on the Hill visiting with different Senate offices that have expressed reservations or concerns, trying to resolve those or see if there’s any kind of legislative fixes that can be made to their satisfaction.
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that → spend → satisfaction
So I’m optimistic about Sept. 15.
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I → ’m → Sept.
It’s obviously a procedural vote.
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It → ’ → ?
So we’re communicating to folks that even if we can’t necessarily make the change right up front on the front end, the way that you ultimately address the concern that you have is by getting on the bill and then working through the amendment process to get something in there to resolve their concern.
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you → communicate → concern
We’ve seen a lot of reporting in the last couple of months, not just about Democrats who continue to have concerns with the bill, but Republicans too.
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who → see → bill
What’s your whip count right now?
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count → ’ → ?
I think it’s going to be very strong.
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it → think → ?
If not all 53 Republicans, I think you’re going to be right at that number.
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you → think → number
So I feel very good about where Republicans are.
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Republicans → feel → ?
Do you think we’ll see amendments on yields?
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we → think → yields
I don’t want to speak for the leader.
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I → want → leader
I just think from my seat, we’ve had kind of three or four consistent areas where there have either been disagreement on the Republican side or a partisan divide.
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we → think → side
Those would be the most natural places that I would expect amendments that get the consensus needed to get the bill across the finish line.
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that → expect → line
Do you anticipate there will be changes to illicit finance moving forward?
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you → anticipate → finance
You can never say for sure.
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You → say → ?
I’ll be meeting with Sen. [Catherine] Cortez Masto’s office later today to talk about where they are on this.
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they → meet → this
Where do talks stand over ethics provisions?
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talks → stand → provisions
It seems to have been somewhat skipped over the fact that the White House, President Trump, agreed to a historic ethics provision already in the bill that restricts all federal officials’ ability to issue or sponsor any digital asset.
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that → seem → asset
…and 74 more, not listed.
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