Lummis, Gillibrand bring new bill to the table hoping for a different outcome 

Lummis and Gillibrand said in March the new bill would hit the Senate floor before the start of summer, but the legislation was delayed

article-image

Phil Pasquini/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

After months of delays, Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyom., and Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., will bring their revamped Responsible Financial Innovation Act bill to the Senate floor Wednesday. 

The new version of the bill is “landmark legislation to create a federal regulatory framework that allows crypto businesses and investors to prosper here in America while protecting consumers from bad actors,” Lummis said in a tweet

The first iteration of the bill made its Senate debut over a year ago. The bill never reached the markup stage, but supporters praised the effort as a first-of-its kind attempt at a broad bipartisan crypto policy proposal. 

Lummis and Gillibrand said in March the new bill would hit the Senate floor before the start of summer, but the legislation was delayed. The Senators were focused on adjusting parts of the bill industry members found troubling, such as including new measures to help protect consumers and prevent further FTX-like disasters. 

The revamped version would establish a law enforcement working group to help monitor the industry. It also updates the tax code and attempts to tackle stablecoin regulation with new reporting and registration requirements. 

Bipartisan co-sponsors aside, Lummis and Gillibrand will still have to appeal to Committee heads if they want the legislation to make it to markup. Lummis is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, but Democrat Chairman Sherrod Brown is a vocal critic of the crypto industry. 

Crypto investment vehicles are “speculative products run by reckless companies, we know that’s true,” Sen. Brown said during a February Committee hearing on digital assets.

Gillibrand serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, chaired by Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. 

Sen. Stabenow co-sponsored the bipartisan Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act last Congressional session. The bill did not make it past the introduction stage, nor did two sister bills in the House, one of which was Republican, the other Democrat. 

Stabenow, one of several lawmakers to receive campaign contributions from now-disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried, has said she will not be running for reelection. 

Lummis’ and Gillibrand’s offices did not respond to Blockworks’ request for comment.


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.

recent research

Research Report Templates (3).png

Research

Pear Protocol has proven its market fit through its pair-trading infrastructure, sustaining consistent trading activity despite recent headwinds. Its strategic pivot toward Hyperliquid integration represents a major growth catalyst amid industry consolidation. While short-term token unlocks present challenges, current valuations and liquidity conditions may offer compelling opportunities for investors.

article-image

The network got slower in June — and it wasn’t for tech-related reasons

article-image

After a jittery few months, recent economic data is hinting at a resilient economy that is beginning to re-accelerate

article-image

The stablecoin bill now heads to the president’s desk

article-image

The House on Thursday passed the CLARITY Act, a landmark cryptocurrency market structure bill

article-image

Interchain Labs will focus on sovereign L1s and institutional demand, abandoning plans for smart contracts on the Cosmos Hub

article-image

Also, only three tokens have outperformed bitcoin so far this year: XMR, HYPE and SKY