Crypto executives descended on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for meetings with senators on both sides of the aisle after negotiations over market structure legislation stalled.
Leaders from Coinbase, Solana Policy Institute, Chainlink and other organizations met with Senate Democrats and Republicans separately to discuss long-sought legislation to create a regulatory framework for the industry.
Despite some heated comments, most seemed to depart with a positive outlook on the bill's prospects.
"I left feeling fairly optimistic," Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told reporters after speaking with Democrats.
"I think there's, from industry and the Senate Democrats, a strong willingness to get, an urgency to get something done in the next six, seven weeks of legislative session," he added.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who chairs the Senate Banking digital assets subcommittee, suggested the conversation "went well."
"We are all in agreement that we just want to figure out how to land this plane, and that requires some mutual respect from both sides, and I think we're getting there," he said.
Negotiations between the two sides broke down earlier this month, after a Democratic proposal was leaked to the press. The document, which a staffer described as a "starting point" on decentralized finance regulation, faced swift backlash from the industry.
The leak came amid tensions between the two sides over setting a date for a markup, as Republicans pushed their colleagues across the aisle to finalize a date, while Democrats argued it was too soon.
"I think the meetings today were really important in the effort to get makret structure legislation moving forward again," Solana Policy Institute President Kristin Smith told The Hill.
"It's not often that a senator sits down in a meeting with a group of industry leaders for over an hour," she added. "I think getting everybody in one place was really helpful, and hopefully this will be a catalyst to get bipartisan discussions and negotiations going again."
Several industry participants said lawmakers indicated they are hoping to have a markup on the legislation by Thanksgiving.
"Are we really that far apart?" Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) told reporters. "I think the answer is no."
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