U.S. Government Shutdown Impacts Cryptocurrency Policy Progress

According to BlockBeats, the U.S. government shutdown has entered its ninth day, creating uncertainty around the cryptocurrency policy agenda due to budget constraints. Despite the House of Representatives being in recess, the Senate continues to hold sessions on budget and cryptocurrency matters. Insiders report that the Senate Banking Committee remains committed to advancing cryptocurrency market structure policies, even if it requires holding hearings during the shutdown. They aim to conduct a markup of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act by the end of the month, regardless of budget approval. Before the shutdown, the draft was nearly complete, but reduced federal agency staff is expected to delay progress. Most agency staff collaborating with congressional committees on policies like cryptocurrency market structure are on temporary leave, decreasing the likelihood of a swift release of the draft. With limited federal agency personnel, new spot cryptocurrency ETFs are unlikely to be approved before the shutdown ends. The SEC's shutdown operations plan indicates that the agency will not review or approve registration statements or issue effectiveness notices. However, given the SEC's new general listing standards and the significant pre-shutdown efforts by issuers and agency staff, two issuers express confidence that new products will be quickly approved once federal operations resume.