Trump’s Crypto Push Faces Delays as U.S. Shutdown Stalls Market Structure Bill
As the U.S. government shutdown stretches into record territory, breaking the previous 35-day mark, the political deadlock in Washington is casting a shadow over the nation’s digital asset agenda — even as President Donald J. Trump publicly doubles down on his ambition to make the United States a global crypto leader.
The prolonged funding impasse, intensified by Democrats’ sweeping victories in Tuesday’s off-year elections, has stalled progress on multiple legislative fronts, including long-awaited crypto market structure reforms. According to several policy insiders, the election results may delay dealmaking further, pushing any major breakthroughs in Congress to 2026.
“The longer the shutdown lasts, the slimmer the chances of market structure legislation moving through Congress become,” said Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, noting that many of the government experts responsible for drafting the bill have been furloughed.
Despite the bureaucratic freeze, Trump’s administration continues to signal urgency. Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, told an audience at Ripple’s Swell conference that Trump still expects to see a final market structure bill on his desk by the end of 2025.
“We’re continuing to apply pressure, having regular meetings,” Witt said. “I spend most of my time on Capitol Hill these days, meeting with Senators from both sides to get that done. I’m optimistic the trend line is moving in the right direction.”
Ironically, Witt added, the shutdown has provided his team with an opportunity to engage lawmakers more deeply on the substance of the bill, given the slowdown of competing legislative priorities.
Trump’s Miami Message: From Shutdown to Crypto Superpower
Only hours after those remarks, Trump took the stage at the America Business Forum in Miami, where he framed his administration’s crypto agenda as central to restoring U.S. economic leadership.
“We are here … to embrace a vital industry here in Miami,” he said, casting the digital asset sector as both a symbol and a vehicle of American innovation.
Positioning himself as the architect of a policy reversal, Trump declared, “I’ve also signed historic executive orders to end the federal government’s war on crypto. Crypto was under siege. It’s not under siege anymore.”
He linked the digital asset ecosystem to broader economic and monetary objectives, suggesting that crypto “takes a lot of the pressure off the dollar” and helps reinforce U.S. financial strength.
Trump contrasted his stance sharply with the previous administration, accusing President Biden’s team of hostility toward the industry. “Biden was vicious on crypto. They were going after these crypto guys. It was terrible,” he said.
Policy Moves Without Policy Movement
Trump’s pro-crypto rhetoric in Miami builds on tangible — if limited — actions by the current White House. This year saw the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, both composed of coins seized or forfeited to the federal government. The administration also advanced a stablecoin framework through the GENIUS Act, signed into law in July, while continuing to oppose a U.S. central bank digital currency, framing its stance as “crypto-friendly but dollar-first.”
However, the legislative engine driving broader crypto market reform remains stuck in the wider machinery of Washington gridlock. Even Trump’s closest advisors concede that a comprehensive market structure bill may not clear both chambers of Congress before 2026, despite the White House’s push for a 2025 deadline.
A Vision in Tension
Trump’s dual message — visionary optimism paired with political frustration — captures the contradictory moment for U.S. crypto policy. On one hand, the president is positioning the country as “the Bitcoin superpower, the crypto capital of the world,” warning that rivals like China are racing ahead. On the other, the shutdown and partisan tensions threaten to derail the very legislative framework needed to sustain that ambition.
For now, the future of U.S. crypto regulation hangs between a confident executive vision and a paralyzed Congress — a reminder that even the world’s most powerful crypto advocate must still contend with the realities of Washington politics.
