House Cryptocurrency Hearings Cancelled Due to Democrat Intervention
Democrats have opted out of a joint meeting of the two committees, opting to hold their own debate on Trump's “cryptocorruption.”
Jesse Hamilton | Edited by Nikhilesh De Updated May 6, 2025, 4:30 PM Published May 6, 2025, 4:26 PM
What you should know:
- In sessions in the US House of Representatives that were supposed to be devoted to discussing and advancing a cryptocurrency policy bill, Democrats and Republicans clashed over President Donald Trump's ties to the crypto industry, leading to a split into two separate debates.
- Democrats have characterized Trump's digital asset business interests as corrupt and held a separate room to explore conflict-of-interest allegations, while the initial meeting was effectively a roundtable on cryptocurrency policy.
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives canceled a joint hearing on cryptocurrency policy scheduled for Tuesday, arguing that Trump's personal dealings in cryptocurrencies are too pressing to allow for other discussions about regulation in the area.
“I oppose this joint hearing because of the corruption of the President of the United States, his ownership of cryptocurrency, and his control over all the agencies,” said Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, effectively stripping the caucus of its official status, which required unanimous consent for the group and the House Agriculture Committee to hold joint hearings.
Waters called on people to join Democrats in another room “to discuss what we need to discuss: Trump's crypto-corruption.”
The session was divided at the start of the adjourned session, with Democrats pressing their Republican colleagues to look into the president’s digital assets, including his own memecoin and ties to World Liberty Financial. Republicans, who introduced a draft bill this week for debate on the proposed language of the cryptocurrency market structure bill, continued their discussions with witnesses they had invited.
Thus, on Tuesday morning, two failed meetings were held in different rooms, demonstrating the rift between the parties that has worsened this week over the next steps in overseeing the digital asset sector.
“A joint hearing was sorely needed,” said a visibly frustrated Representative French Hill, the Republican chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. “I understand that the ranking member has his concerns, but by refusing to have this hearing, he is undermining the ability of these two committees to have a conversation that is vital to the American people. This is a loss for our committee, the House, and the community.”
In what was effectively a roundtable, with guests serving as participants rather than witnesses, the Republican-initiated debate continued. Former CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam argued that the agency needs more authority and resources to effectively regulate cryptocurrencies, while Coinbase CEO Greg Tusar called the market structure bill a “significant step” toward clarity in the industry.
At a hastily arranged meeting of Democrats, Waters began
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