Paradigm VP Justin Slaughter predicts crypto market-structure bill rulemaking could take years

Justin Slaughter, Paradigm’s vice president of regulatory affairs, said rulemaking for the U.S. crypto market-structure bill could take many years to complete.

The bill has advanced to the Senate committee stage with bipartisan text and ongoing negotiations, and is set for a markup with the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday while the Senate Agriculture Committee has delayed its hearing until Jan. 27. Rulemaking, Slaughter noted, involves individual regulators and agencies fleshing out the details of a law, including publishing proposed rules, seeking public comment and issuing final regulations. He added that "45 rulemakings [are] required in this bill alone," and predicted the implementation process would likely span through the next presidential term. Speaking from experience, he said, "Dodd-Frank still isn't finished today, and most of the non-CFTC rules were finished in that from 2013-2018, 3 to 8 years after passage."

The bill must still pass the House and Senate and be signed by US President Donald Trump before rulemaking can begin. Slaughter said he would watch Thursday to see whether a bipartisan process holds and cautioned that major bills often "die a few times before [they] ultimately came through," adding that "hope always springs eternal."

Key Topics

Crypto, Justin Slaughter, Paradigm, Senate Banking Committee, Crypto Market-structure Bill, Rulemaking