Next week, Washington's legislative agenda will see major moves in the cryptocurrency community. Cody Carbone, CEO of the Digital Chamber of Commerce, revealed that representatives from over 50 member companies will gather in the Senate to lobby around the "Responsible Financial Innovation Act." This bill has been making steady progress in recent weeks — the Senate Agriculture Committee and Banking Committee may mark it simultaneously, with Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott scheduled to vote on market structure on January 15.

The Digital Chamber of Commerce has been involved throughout the drafting process, and this large-scale lobbying on Thursday is also to clearly communicate to lawmakers: why this bill is important for the industry. According to the draft, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission will gain greater regulatory authority over digital assets.

However, investment bank TD Cowen poured cold water on the optimism: don’t get too hopeful, it might take until 2027 for this bill to actually pass Congress, and the implementation might not happen until 2029. After the 2026 midterm elections, the landscape in the Senate could change, with Democratic support possibly loosening and Republican majorities not necessarily being stable. That said, Carbone believes that the bipartisan cooperation over the past three weeks has been promising, and it’s not impossible for the bill to be completed early this year.