The House of Representatives voted to reopen the government after a 42-day shutdown, freeing time and resources that were immediately directed toward the regulation of digital assets. The reopening matters because it reactivated prepared legislative projects and affects operators, custodians and institutional investors seeking regulatory clarity.
The government shutdown, which reached 42 days, ended when the House approved a funding bill that the Senate had advanced, and the president signed the agreement on November 12, 2025, according to records cited by state authorities. The outcome not only restored federal services but also immediately freed legislative capacity to advance initiatives on cryptocurrencies that had already been prepared.
According to the New York attorney general’s office, the Senate had approved in July 2025 the bill known as the GENIUS Act, which defined Bitcoin as a digital commodity, marking a milestone prior to the operational crisis. A few days after the reopening, on November 10, 2025, the Senate Agriculture Committee released a bipartisan draft market-structure bill for cryptoassets, driven by senators John Boozman and Cory Booker, according to committee documents.
That draft proposes, among other things, to grant the CFTC primary oversight of the spot market for digital assets and to allocate additional funding sources for the regulator. In parallel, bill H.R.3633, known as the CLARITY Act, began to move in the legislative calendar, reflecting a convergence of initiatives that take advantage of the window opened after the reopening.
Implications for markets and compliance
The proposal to grant the CFTC supervision of the spot market may redefine licensing and custody requirements for exchanges and custodians, with implications for how platforms structure operations and client asset safeguards.
Greater regulatory certainty tends to facilitate the entry of institutional capital, but the actual impact will depend on the final scope, timing and implementation details of the rules under debate.
After the reopening vote, the next operational milestone will be the reactivation of markups and committee votes for the market-structure projects and the consideration of H.R.3633; the pace and content of those hearings will define the immediate regulatory architecture for cryptocurrencies and the compliance requirements for the sector.
