Getting a crypto bill through Congress is only the first hurdle, policy expert says

Even if Congress does get its act together, the CFTC and SEC have known to drag out rulemaking for a decade

article-image

lazyllama/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Though congressional leaders have continued to spar over the best course of action for crypto regulation, getting a bill to the president’s desk may only be the start of the battle. 

Federal policy expert Dorothy DeWitt cautoned crypto companies on Friday that even if policy advances, rules can take a decade or more to pass.  

DeWitt served as former chief finance counsel to the Senate and former director of the CFTC’s division of oversight. 

“Rulemaking takes forever,” DeWitt said during a panel in New York Friday at an event hosted by Lowenstein Sandler law firm and Rutgers law school

DeWitt pointed to the Dodd Frank Act, which was published in 2010, but its final rules were not passed through the CFTC until 2021. 

“It’s really hard to get folks who have little interest [and] little understanding and who are afraid of really complex issues to come together,” she said. 

Read more: Crypto creates ‘perfect storm of investor risk’: SEC enforcement director

Panelist James Park, a professor at UCLA School of Law, said the SEC faces similar challenges when it comes to creating and enforcing rules around evolving technology like crypto. Plus, he said, there’s a simultaneous jurisdictional battle. 

“There’s a question of ‘is it the SEC, the CFTC or something else?’” Park said. “Is there something about crypto that the current exchange rules, for example, are just not willing to work with respect to various crypto [companies]? And that’s something I think the SEC is going to have to figure out.” 

DeWitt is no stranger to the Hill; she helped draft the Responsible Innovation Act, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., last session. 

The bill has not made the rounds this Congress, but the senators have expressed interest in re-introducing a revised version

The bill is “comprehensive,” DeWitt said, addressing consumer protection, market integrity, anti–terrorism policy and promoting innovation, all issues she deemed essential for such legislation to make it through Congress.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Maple Finance has successfully navigated significant market challenges through its strategic pivot to secured lending (Maple v2) and the launch of its Syrup product. Syrup has become a primary growth driver, delivering sustainable, outperforming stablecoin yields and rapidly increasing TVL. The upcoming custody-first Bitcoin staking product (istBTC) presents another significant avenue for expansion. Crucially, Maple has achieved operational profitability, a key inflection point that, combined with a fully vested token and active buyback mechanism, strengthens its investment case. While valuation metrics suggest potential undervaluation relative to peers and growth, the primary forward-looking risk identified is the long-term sustainability of its current high-take-rate collateral staking revenue model.

article-image

In 2014, Microsoft virus scanners were detecting viruses in Bitcoin software

article-image

Ledn’s Mauricio Di Bartolomeo explained how this cycle’s been different for the lender

article-image

The shorts looking for funding range from charming animated series to gritty live-action dramas

article-image

Money, it turns out, is emergent, like consciousness

article-image

Bridge flows churn in both directions as risk appetite returns