Ripple, Coinbase, Among Others Meeting Democrats Ahead of Crypto ETF Approvals

Executives from crypto industry leaders, including Ripple, Coinbase, Chainlink, Galaxy, Kraken, Uniswap, and Circle, will attend a roundtable with pro-crypto Democrats this week. This comes amid delays in crypto ETFs’ approval due to the U.S. government shutdown, dragging the crypto market lower.

Ripple, Coinbase, Other Top Crypto Executives to Meet Democrats

Several executives from the crypto industry will attend a roundtable with pro-crypto Senate Democrats on Wednesday, according to Crypto In America host Eleanor Terrett’s post on October 20. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to lead the roundtable.

Chief executive officers (CEO) attending the roundtable include Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, Chainlink’s Sergey Nazarov, Galaxy’s Mike Novogratz, Kraken’s Dave Ripley, and Uniswap’s Hayden Adams.

Crypto policy leaders such as Solana Policy Institute president Kristin Smith, Circle CSO Dante Disparte, Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty, Jito CLO Rebecca Rettig, and a16z crypto GC Miles Jennings are also participating.

This meeting comes as negotiations with Republicans stalled following fallout and industry backlash over a leaked Democratic proposal to regulate DeFi. Crypto industry leaders such as Brian Armstrong and Jake Chervinsky claimed that the proposal would ban crypto rather than promote innovation.

Crypto executives are expected to discuss market structure legislation, decentralized finance (DeFi) regulatory framework, and the path forward for crypto policies.

Delays in Crypto ETF Approvals

The roundtable is crucial for the crypto market as it comes at a time when crypto ETFs are facing delays. While the U.S. government shutdown entered its fourth week, the meeting comes as the U.S. SEC missed the final deadline for many crypto ETFs. These include ETF decisions on Litecoin, Solana, and Ripple’s native coin XRP.

The delay in approvals and prolonged government shutdown have impacted investor sentiment. The crypto market crash saw over $850 billion wiped out as the total crypto market cap fell to $3.5 trillion. Moreover, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index shifted from greed to extreme fear in just a week.

Meanwhile, issuers are updating their applications with the Generic Listing Standards. Recently, the SEC asked issuers to withdraw their 19b-4 filings and change language to comply with the new listing standards for crypto ETFs.