Some pro-crypto Senate Democrats have reportedly blown up at the crypto executives in these meetings, urging them: “Don’t be an arm of the Republican Party — they used you and your megaphones to fuck us.”15 This was likely in response to the recent leak by Senate Republicans of a Democratic draft proposal to regulate decentralized finance, which sparked dramatic backlash from crypto industry figures who fear it would effectively outlaw defi. Paradigm lobbyist Alexander Grieve bashed the proposal as “worse than anything Gensler cooked up”,16 and industry advocate Jake Chervinsky described it as “basically a crypto ban”.17

Other Democrats have expressed annoyance at Republicans for pushing them to agree to a markup date without having had much time to negotiate the draft. “Democrats have shown up ready to work but our Republican counterparts are crashing out,” said a staffer for Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego. “Their demand to set a markup date before text is agreed to is like setting a wedding date before the first date. It’s nonsensical.”18 But the Republicans are feeling the time crunch. A source familiar with the meetings, speaking to Decrypt, said, “[T]he Republicans are like: ‘If we don't move this in November, we don't get it done by the end of the year, then the whole thing derails.’”19
Some pro-crypto Senate Democrats have reportedly blown up at the crypto executives in these meetings, urging them: “Don’t be an arm of the Republican Party — they used you and your megaphones to fuck us.”15 This was likely in response to the recent leak by Senate Republicans of a Democratic draft proposal to regulate decentralized finance, which sparked dramatic backlash from crypto industry figures who fear it would effectively outlaw defi. Paradigm lobbyist Alexander Grieve bashed the proposal as “worse than anything Gensler cooked up”,16 and industry advocate Jake Chervinsky described it as “basically a crypto ban”.17 Other Democrats have expressed annoyance at Republicans for pushing them to agree to a markup date without having had much time to negotiate the draft. “Democrats have shown up ready to work but our Republican counterparts are crashing out,” said a staffer for Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego. “Their demand to set a markup date before text is agreed to is like setting a wedding date before the first date. It’s nonsensical.”18 But the Republicans are feeling the time crunch. A source familiar with the meetings, speaking to Decrypt, said, “[T]he Republicans are like: ‘If we don't move this in November, we don't get it done by the end of the year, then the whole thing derails.’”19