Crypto Hearing Expected to Proceed During Government Shutdown Partially

BlockBeats News, October 10th: The U.S. government shutdown has entered its ninth day. Due to a lack of budget, the cryptocurrency policy agenda remains in an uncertain state, but Washington insiders insist that the momentum for policy advancement has not been completely lost. Despite the House of Representatives being in recess due to the shutdown, the Senate appears to still be meeting on budget and cryptocurrency matters.

Two informed sources have stated that the Senate Banking Committee is still committed to advancing cryptocurrency market structure policy, even if it means holding deliberation hearings during the government shutdown. They added that regardless of whether the budget is passed, the committee leadership hopes to markup the Responsible Financial Innovation Act by the end of this month.

Prior to the shutdown, one source indicated that the draft was already "close to completion," but with reduced federal agency personnel, it is expected to take more time to move forward. According to sources, agency staff working with congressional committees to develop policies such as cryptocurrency market structure policy have mostly been furloughed during the shutdown, reducing the likelihood of a quick release of the draft.

Due to limited federal agency personnel, the approval of new physically-backed cryptocurrency ETFs is not expected before the end of the shutdown. According to the SEC's shutdown operations plan, the agency will not review or approve registration statements, nor will it issue effectiveness notices. Given the SEC's new universal listing standards and the significant work put in by issuers and agency staff before the shutdown, two issuers have stated that they are confident their new products will quickly be approved once federal agencies resume operations.