Maxine Waters aims for “tough but fair” crypto rules as Democrats draft framework

The former House Financial Services chair sees little room for reasonable market structure rules once Democrats take the gavel Patrick McHenry spent years trying to build a rulebook for crypto. Now he is warning that the next person holding the pen may write a very different one. The former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee says Rep. Maxine Waters’s leadership leaves little hope for reasonable crypto market structure legislation. Waters is set to take over that committee in January 2027, after Democrats won control of both chambers in the November 3, 2026 midterm elections. In a recent interview, McHenry zeroed in on Waters’s stated approach to regulation. She has described her goal as “tough but fair” rules. McHenry is not buying the second half of that phrase.

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