Washington’s fight over crypto policy is rapidly morphing into a head-to-head between the digital-asset industry and one of the capital’s oldest power centers: big banks. In an interview with Pete Rizzo, Satoshi Action Fund founder and CEO Dennis Porter warned that the banking lobby is preparing a nine-figure campaign to push back — a move that could derail or reshape both market-structure legislation and rules for stablecoins.
Porter framed the struggle as less about whether Congress will regulate crypto and more about whose rules will prevail. He noted that President Trump has publicly urged keeping the GENIUS Act intact — a boost for crypto-friendly lawmakers — but added White House support won’t erase the deeper conflict with banks. Stablecoins and bank rewards programs are particular flashpoints: banks see some crypto innovations as threats to deposits and fee income.
“The bank lobby has come out and said they do plan to spend to counteract the crypto industry,” Porter said, noting the effort could top nine figures — “right up there with the Fairshake number.” That kind of spending, he warned, gives banks a heavy counterbalance and the ability to pull lawmakers away from crypto-friendly positions.
Porter also flagged cracks on the political side. Democrats have grown more cautious about digital-asset legislation amid ethics concerns tied to Trump family involvement in the sector, and the market-structure package is far bigger and more politically fraught than a standalone stablecoin bill. Market structure touches on securities-versus-commodities questions, DeFi oversight, anti-money-laundering provisions, ethics rules and even the composition of the CFTC — all potential sources of delay and dissent.
That breadth means the legislation faces a wider range of objections. Porter said there’s still a route forward if key Democrats can be reassured by revisions, but the bill currently lacks a clear forcing mechanism and has been sidelined while lawmakers prioritize other priorities like housing. If banks and crypto firms enter an overt lobbying war, he warned, lawmakers from both parties could start peeling off; the Senate margin is already “very tight,” he said.
Porter emphasized why banks are such formidable adversaries: beyond money, they bring entrenched local influence — branches, jobs and long-standing constituent relationships that matter to lawmakers’ districts. That advantage is particularly important when public trust in crypto is low. “Crypto really is not popular right now,” Porter said. “Public trust in the crypto space is at an all-time low.”
Porter argued the market-structure legislation’s purpose should include cleaning out bad actors and scams that have harmed the sector’s reputation, but he cautioned progress depends as much on electoral timing as on policy detail. While some analysts say the window for action narrows by summer, he believes the odds fall as midterms approach but do not close entirely.
At press time the total crypto market cap stood at about $2.34 trillion. For now, lawmakers, banks and crypto firms are squaring off in a high-stakes lobbying battle that could determine whether the industry secures a regulatory framework shaped in its favor — or one steered by entrenched financial incumbents.
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