Coinbase Kills Senate Crypto Bill Momentum at Key Vote

Coinbase withdrew support for the U.S. Senate's crypto market structure bill ahead of a key vote, citing serious concerns with the latest draft, forcing Senate leaders to delay the legislation entirely.

Why It Matters

Coinbase's pullback hands a significant setback to the U.S. crypto regulatory framework that the industry has lobbied for throughout 2024 and into 2025. Without buy-in from the largest U.S. crypto exchange by volume, the bill loses critical industry legitimacy at exactly the moment it needed momentum. The delay leaves exchanges, token issuers, and investors operating under persistent regulatory uncertainty — a condition that historically suppresses institutional capital allocation. Separately, Zcash (ZEC) dodged a potentially existential threat: as of May 2025, the Zcash Foundation confirmed the SEC closed its investigation into the project without action, a material de-risking event for ZEC holders.

Context

Bitcoin reached $96,750 as of May 2025, per Decrypt, marking a new two-month high on a 2% daily gain, with Ethereum also up 2% to $3,360. Monero (XMR) hit a fresh all-time high of $800 before retracing to $725 — a move privacy-coin watchers will link to sustained demand in jurisdictions with capital controls. Ripple, meanwhile, secured a Luxembourg license, extending its European regulatory footprint as its legal battle with the SEC winds down domestically.

What's Next

The Senate must now reconcile industry objections before rescheduling a vote on the market structure bill — no revised timeline has been confirmed as of publication. Ripple's Luxembourg license positions the firm to accelerate euro-denominated payment corridors, with Pakistan's partnership with World Liberty Financial on stablecoin remittances adding another cross-border use case to watch.

Gambling and crypto trading both involve significant financial risk. Never commit capital you cannot afford to lose.

Source: Decrypt