According to media reports, the Democratic Party is scheduled to hold a meeting on October 22, 2025, with top executives from leading cryptocurrency firms to discuss regulatory measures for the crypto sector.
Meeting Agenda and Participants
The roundtable will include CEOs and legal representatives from major companies such as:
- Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase
- Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital
- Dave Ripley, CEO of Kraken
- Stuart Alderoty, Chief Legal Officer of Ripple Labs
The discussion will focus on proposed regulations for the DeFi sector, following a leaked Democratic proposal to implement strict oversight as part of the CLARITY Act. This initiative has sparked criticism from both the crypto community and political opponents.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will lead the Democratic delegation. The meeting comes in the wake of internal debates over DeFi regulations, which have highlighted divisions between Democrats, Republicans, and industry stakeholders.
Proposed Measures and Industry Response
The leaked document, titled “Preventing Illicit Finance and Regulatory Arbitrage Through Decentralized Finance Platforms”, outlines several measures, including:
- Registration of all DeFi service providers, including non-custodial wallet operators, as brokers
- Expanded authority for the U.S. Treasury, including a list of prohibited protocols
- Enforcement of KYC/AML procedures across multiple counterparties
Industry representatives, including Sammer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, and Jake Chervinsky, Chief Legal Officer at Variant, criticized the proposals as effectively banning the sector, warning that this could drive innovation and liquidity out of the U.S.
Legislative Context
The Democrats’ proposal is seen as an attempt to counteract the Republican-backed CLARITY framework, which received House approval in summer 2025 but has not progressed further. The Democratic version, co-authored by Senator Gillibrand, seeks to introduce alternative regulatory approaches to DeFi.
As of now, no comments have been made by potential meeting participants regarding the planned discussion.
