Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev reaffirms support for crypto market structure bill amid delay

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev reaffirmed his backing for the pending U.S. crypto market structure legislation, even as progress has slowed amid bipartisan negotiations and divisions within the industry.

In a Wednesday post on X, Tenev noted that staking and stock tokens are in high demand on Robinhood but remain restricted or unavailable in parts of the U.S. due to regulatory uncertainty. 

"It's time for the U.S. to lead on crypto policy," Tenev wrote. "We support Congress's efforts to pass the market structure bill. There is still work to be done, but we see a path and are here to help [Banking GOP] and [Senate Banking Committee] get it over the line."

The sweeping legislation seeks to establish a clear regulatory framework for digital assets. It aims to distribute oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and address key topics in the space, such as stablecoins, tokenized assets, and DeFi.

The Senate Banking Committee, chaired by Sen. Tim Scott, had scheduled a markup for Thursday. However, the session was pulled late Wednesday, and no new date has been announced. The Senate Agriculture Committee had similarly postponed its own markup to late January.

The postponement came after support for the legislation splintered, particularly following Coinbase's withdrawal of backing earlier on Wednesday. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly raised multiple concerns with the latest draft text, citing what he described as a "de facto ban" on tokenized equities, prohibitions on DeFi, restrictions on rewards on stablecoins, and an overly broad role for the SEC. 

A source familiar with the matter told The Block that after reviewing the draft text, Coinbase concluded that the current version of the bill is not in the best interest of its customers.

However, the person familiar said the issues at hand are fixable, and that Coinbase will "get back to work" to resolve them before the next markup hearing.

Several other industry players remain optimistic. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressed continued commitment to resolving issues through the markup process. 

"[This move] on market structure is a massive step forward in providing workable frameworks for crypto, while continuing to protect consumers," Garlinghouse wrote on X. "We are at the table and will continue to move forward with fair debate."

The House passed its version of related legislation last July. For the Senate legislation to advance, both committee bills would need to be married together before heading to a full Senate vote. The House's version would still need to be addressed before one final version heads to President Donald Trump's desk to be signed into law.