Sen. Tim Scott pushes crypto bill ahead of Sept. deadline but says Sen. Elizabeth Warren is 'standing in the way'

Republican Sen. Tim Scott, who is leading efforts to pass a bill to regulate the cryptocurrency industry at large, says he is banking on getting enough Democrats to pass that legislation, but said one lawmaker is "standing in the way."

Senate Banking Committee Chair Scott told a crowd on Tuesday at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium that he thinks he can get between 12 to 18 Democrats potentially on board to vote for his market structure bill, but said that long-time critic of the crypto industry, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, is allegedly blocking that vision.

"The forces against it, let me just say it clearly, like Elizabeth Warren, standing in the way of Democrats wanting to participate," Scott said. "It is a real force to overcome."

Scott, alongside Sens. Cynthia Lummis, Bill Hagerty, and Bernie Moreno, released a discussion draft for a larger crypto market structure last month with a self-imposed deadline of Sept. 30 to get something done on such legislation. Market structure is viewed as a heavier lift, given the wide range of complexities with regulating the whole industry compared to legislation that was signed into law earlier this summer to regulate stablecoins.

The House has its own version of a market structure bill, which was passed last month 294-134, with 78 Democrats in favor of that bill. Ultimately, the House and Senate would need to agree on one piece of legislation.

Top Democrat of the Senate Banking Committee Warren has sharply criticized her Republican colleague's crypto market structure bill draft, and has accused them of seeking to give an "industry handout."

"We need a crypto regulatory framework that reduces these risks," Warren said in July. "But I’m concerned that what my Republican colleagues are aiming for is another industry handout that gives the crypto lobby everything on its wish list: The blessing of the government’s approval, combined with crypto rules that are weaker than the rules every other financial actor must follow."