'Compromises need to be made': Trump's crypto advisor urges quick passage of market structure bill

Patrick Witt, executive director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, said that the U.S. needs to pass the crypto market structure bill promptly before it loses momentum under the current crypto-friendly administration.

"'No bill is better than a bad bill' — What a privilege it is to be able to say those words thanks to President Trump's victory, and the pro-crypto administration he has assembled," Witt wrote on X on Tuesday, referencing comments from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong when the crypto exchange decided to withdraw its support for the bill last week.

"There will be a crypto market structure bill — it's a question of when, not if," the White House crypto advisor said. "So, do we take advantage of the opportunity to pass a bill now … Or do we fumble the ball and allow Dems to write punitive legislation in the wake of a future financial crisis à la Dodd-Frank?"

Witt's latest comment comes amid delays to the crypto legislation, largely due to disagreements over specific details of the bill. Coinbase, one of the largest crypto donors for the Trump administration, had taken issue with the bill's language that could limit tokenized equities, privacy in DeFi, and stablecoin yield.

The largest U.S. crypto exchange's withdrawal of support from the current version of the bill prompted the Senate Banking Committee to postpone its markup hearing, despite earlier expectations that the legislation would advance swiftly to Trump's desk.

"You might not love every part of the CLARITY Act, but I can guarantee you'll hate a future Dem version even more," Witt said in his social media post. "Let's keep working to improve the product, recognizing that compromises will need to be made in order to get 60 votes in the Senate, but let's not let perfect be the enemy of the good."

Despite initially pulling support from the draft bill text, Coinbase says it remains committed to improving the bill. Armstrong said Monday in a video message that he will discuss the bill with bank executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos to find a common ground on the stablecoin yield issue, as U.S. banks have strongly opposed the idea of allowing crypto companies to offer such products.

Despite ongoing debates, legislators and industry stakeholders agree that the bill is vital for providing regulatory certainty and resolving the jurisdictional friction between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Senate Agriculture Committee's upcoming markup hearing for the bill is scheduled to take place on Jan. 27. The Banking Committee has yet to set a new date for its postponed markup.