rats

According to reporter Eleanor Terrett, a Democratic staffer stated that the atmosphere of the relevant meeting was "positive," and described it as "the most productive Democratic meeting so far." Chuck Schumer also attended the meeting, emphasizing the importance of industry participation and calling for the momentum of legislative progress to be maintained and for the bill to be passed as soon as possible.Although there are still clear demands regarding certain provisions within the Democratic Party, attendees generally believe that this legislative effort, which was once considered "on the verge of being shelved" a few weeks ago, is currently "far from over," and there is still potential for progress.

Crypto reporter Eleanor Terrett revealed that two insiders disclosed that Senate Democrats plan to hold another closed-door meeting tomorrow to discuss the "Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act" (the CLARITY Act). This will be the first meeting held by Democratic members since the Senate Banking Committee postponed the bill's consideration last month.

The Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, stated that they will not assist the Republicans in quickly passing the federal government funding plan. U.S. media pointed out that Jeffries' statement implies that the U.S. government shutdown may last longer than expected. The U.S. Senate passed the funding bill for several federal departments for the remainder of the fiscal year on January 30, which will be sent to the House for consideration. However, the House is currently in recess and may vote on the funding bill as early as February 2.It is reported that the operational funds for several federal departments, including the U.S. Department of State and the Pentagon, were exhausted as of January 30, causing the U.S. federal government to enter a partial "shutdown" starting at midnight on January 31.

According to market news, the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee has officially advanced the cryptocurrency market structure bill with a partisan vote of 12-11. This marks the first progress for the bill at the Senate committee level, indicating its entry into a new phase. However, due to the vote being entirely along party lines and lacking Democratic support, the bill still faces significant obstacles for future passage in the full Senate.Committee Chairman and Republican John Boozman stated that significant progress has been made after months of negotiations, and it is now time to move the process forward. However, Democratic chief negotiator Corey Booker criticized the Republicans for withdrawing from negotiations and accused President Trump and his family of profiting from the crypto industry while attempting to push a regulatory framework lacking ethical constraints. Democrats on the committee unanimously oppose the current version but have expressed a willingness to continue negotiations to reach a bipartisan consensus.The bill also needs to pass through the Senate Banking Committee, where its version has progressed slowly due to more controversial provisions involving stablecoin earnings. The White House plans to convene another meeting next week to coordinate positions among the cryptocurrency industry, banking sector, bipartisan lawmakers, and the government. If the bill ultimately passes in the Senate, it will be reconciled with the version that has already passed the House with a high vote and then submitted to the President for signing into law. Analysts point out that as the midterm elections approach, the legislative window is narrowing.

Galaxy Research Director Alex Thorn shared the latest developments on the crypto market structure bill on the X platform: "A bipartisan meeting was held today to discuss the core demands put forth by both Democrats and Republicans to advance the bill. We reviewed a key document that emerged from this meeting.The main demands from the Democrats regarding DeFi include: front-end compliance with sanctions requirements; granting the Treasury greater 'special measures' authority; and establishing regulatory rules for 'non-decentralized' DeFi.Other demands from the Democrats include: adjusting the classification of crypto assets; introducing new investor protection provisions for crypto ATMs and FTC consumer protection; adding anti-evasion provisions (to prevent evasion of securities laws or other regulatory requirements through loopholes); setting a fundraising cap of up to $200 million for issuers, and requiring protocol parties to proactively report to the SEC, explaining that they do not constitute securities."Matters still pending further discussion include the regulation and handling of stablecoin yields; ethical standards and conflicts of interest, among others. Republicans are pushing for the Senate Banking Committee to review the bill next Thursday (January 15). It remains unclear whether the two parties can reach a consensus to make it a bipartisan bill, as many issues are still unresolved.

Galaxy Research Director Alex Thorn shared the latest developments on the crypto market structure bill on the X platform: "A bipartisan meeting was held today to discuss the core demands put forward by both Democrats and Republicans to advance the bill. We reviewed a key document that emerged from this meeting.The main demands from the Democrats regarding DeFi include: front-end compliance with sanctions requirements; granting the Treasury greater 'special measures' authority; and establishing regulatory rules for 'non-decentralized' DeFi. Other Democratic demands include: adjusting the classification of crypto assets; introducing new investor protection provisions for crypto ATMs and FTC consumer protection; adding anti-avoidance clauses (to prevent evasion of securities laws or other regulatory requirements through loopholes); setting a cap of $200 million for fundraising by issuers, and requiring protocol parties to proactively report to the SEC, clarifying that they do not constitute securities.Outstanding issues for further discussion include the regulation and handling of stablecoin yields; ethical standards and conflicts of interest, among others. Republicans are pushing for the Senate Banking Committee to review the bill next Thursday (January 15). It remains unclear whether the two parties can reach a consensus to make it a bipartisan bill, as many issues are still unresolved."

According to Jinshi Data, Trump stated: The government shutdown has caused a loss of $1.5 trillion, and calculating the overall impact of the loss will take weeks or even months; the Democrats now look very bad.

According to a report by AXIOS, on Monday afternoon local time, a private conference call held by House Democrats turned into an intense emotional outburst, with lawmakers expressing anger over a group of Senate centrists reaching an agreement with Republicans to end the government shutdown. More than a dozen House Democrats spoke during the call, with the vast majority criticizing the deal, reflecting a deep divide between the two chambers. One congressman who participated in the call stated, "Almost everyone strongly opposed" the agreement. About half of the speaking lawmakers directly criticized Senate Minority Leader Schumer, or indirectly expressed dissatisfaction with him by agreeing with previous speakers who had criticized him. (Jinshi)

The Democratic Party won the gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday, regaining political momentum. Voter unease over the economic situation during Trump's second term may pave the way for the Democrats to gain control of Congress next year. Abigail Spanberger's easy victory in the Virginia gubernatorial race, along with Mikie Sherrill's win in New Jersey, constitutes the most significant electoral victories for the Democrats since Trump returned to the White House. Polls from the Associated Press in Virginia and New Jersey show that about 60% of respondents feel "angry" or "dissatisfied" with the current state of the country, while only one-third express "enthusiasm" or "satisfaction." CNN polls indicate that more than half of voters intend to send a message to Trump with their ballots."Off-year" elections serve as both a referendum and a political barometer, as well as a roadmap for the future. The American public's re-evaluation of Trump's performance in office also concerns the future viability of his policy agenda. As the voting takes place, the U.S. government shutdown has entered its sixth week, setting a record for the longest shutdown in U.S. history. Trump's efforts to cut federal spending have left hundreds of thousands of workers idle and hindered the release of economic data.

ChainCatcher news, several executives from cryptocurrency companies are expected to hold a roundtable meeting with Senate Democrats supporting cryptocurrency on Wednesday to discuss market structure legislation and future directions.Attendees include Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Chainlink CEO Sergey Nazarov, Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz, Kraken CEO David Ripley, Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams, Solana Policy Institute President K. Michelle Smith, Circle CSO Dante Disparte, Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty, Jito CLO Rebecca Rettig, and a16z crypto General Counsel Miles Jennings. The meeting will be hosted by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Previously, a leaked DeFi regulatory proposal from the Democrats sparked strong opposition from the industry, leading to a stalemate in negotiations with the Republicans.

ChainCatcher news, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on the X platform stating that he will absolutely not accept the DeFi regulatory proposal from the U.S. Senate Democrats, calling it a bad proposal that will simply hinder innovation and prevent the U.S. from becoming the world's crypto capital.Brian Armstrong also retweeted a statement from Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger, which stated that the U.S. Democrats' DeFi regulatory proposal is fundamentally unworkable and would effectively ban decentralized finance, wallet development, and other applications within the United States.

ChainCatcher news, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on the X platform stating that he will absolutely not accept the DeFi regulatory proposal from the U.S. Senate Democrats, calling it a bad proposal that would simply hinder innovation and prevent the U.S. from becoming the world's crypto capital.Brian Armstrong also retweeted a statement from Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger, which stated that the U.S. Democrats' DeFi regulatory proposal is fundamentally unworkable and would effectively ban decentralized finance, wallet development, and other applications within the United States.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the Democratic Party of the Senate Banking Committee proposed a DeFi regulatory proposal, which faced criticism from Republicans and the industry.The six-page proposal aims for the U.S. Department of the Treasury and financial regulatory agencies to define what constitutes "control/influence" and to determine whether a protocol is "sufficiently decentralized"; individuals/institutions that "design, deploy, control, operate the front end" or "derive substantial benefits from DeFi protocols" are identified as "intermediaries." The Republican side stated that the proposal is "not a legislative text and lacks clear policy logic," while Jake Chervinsky, legal head of Variant Fund, called it "essentially equivalent to a crypto ban." The Senate is still advancing the crypto market structure bill, which needs to be coordinated with the House version; the Agriculture Committee has yet to release the CFTC draft.

ChainCatcher News, President Trump stated that the Republican Party must take advantage of the Democrats' forced government shutdown to eliminate redundancies, waste, and fraud, which could save billions of dollars.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, U.S. President Trump stated that a government shutdown could bring "many benefits," and threatened that if Congress does not meet the demands before the midnight funding deadline, he will dismiss federal workers and cancel projects favored by Democrats.On Tuesday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, "We can get rid of a lot of things we don't want, and those things are all from the Democrats, who just can't learn. So we have no choice. I have to do this for the country."

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, New York State Assemblyman Phil Steck has proposed Bill 8966, which aims to impose a 0.2% sales tax on cryptocurrency and NFT sales and transfers. The revenue will be specifically allocated to school drug abuse prevention programs.Before the bill can take effect, it must first receive approval from the state assembly committee, then be submitted for a vote by the full assembly, and finally be signed by the governor. If passed before September 1, the bill will take effect immediately, potentially bringing significant tax revenue to New York State.

ChainCatcher news, according to crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, "a House Democrat who is helping to garner support for the crypto bill just told me that if all goes well, about 35 Democrats are expected to support the CLARITY Act this afternoon, which is expected to be voted on around 4 PM.He said that the GENIUS Act might have 70 to 80 Democrats voting in favor."

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi Data, Jack Reed, the top Democratic member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, harshly criticized Israel's attacks on Iran, accusing Israel of putting the region and U.S. troops in danger.Reed stated, "Israel's airstrikes against Iran are a shocking decision, a reckless escalation that could trigger regional violence."

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, in the U.S. Senate, a bipartisan coalition supporting stablecoin legislation has fractured, as a group of key Democratic lawmakers threatened to use a lengthy debate procedure to block the bill unless it undergoes "numerous" amendments------while Republicans had hoped to pass the bill this month.Newly elected Senator Ruben Gallego from Arizona, who is pro-crypto, led the statement. He had previously supported the bipartisan bill in the Senate Banking Committee, aimed at regulating cryptocurrencies pegged to the dollar. This Saturday, he, along with eight other Democratic senators, issued a statement warning that they would initiate a filibuster against the latest draft of the bill.

ChainCatcher News, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Democratic leader Gerald Connolly urged the U.S. Treasury to halt plans to create a strategic cryptocurrency reserve, following President Donald Trump's pursuit of establishing a national Bitcoin reserve and personal cryptocurrency reserves.On Thursday, the Virginia Democrat pointed out in a letter to the Treasury that Trump's push for a reserve presents a "clear conflict of interest." Gerald Connolly stated that Trump did not consult Congress and did not "seek congressional authorization" to establish the reserve. The letter stated, "Establishing a strategic cryptocurrency reserve would come at the expense of American taxpayers, enriching the president and his closest allies. I urge you to stop all plans to establish a strategic cryptocurrency reserve and request a briefing for the staff of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee."