The U.S. government shutdown enters its ninth day, causing uncertainty regarding the progress of cryptocurrency policy proposals due to budget constraints. While the House is on recess, the Senate continues with budget and cryptocurrency-related discussions. Despite the shutdown, the Senate Banking Committee maintains its commitment to advancing market structure policies in the industry, even if it requires holding hearings during this period. They plan to complete a markup of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act by the end of the month, despite budget approval uncertainties. The draft was nearly finalized before the shutdown; however, reduced agency staff is expected to delay progress. Most agency personnel collaborating on policies related to cryptocurrency market structure are currently on temporary leave, potentially hindering the release of the final draft. New spot cryptocurrency ETFs are unlikely to receive approval before the end of the shutdown due to limited federal agency personnel at work during this time. The SEC’s operations plan for the shutdown indicates that it won’t review or approve registration statements or issue effectiveness notices. However, given the SEC’s new general listing standards and pre-shutdown efforts by issuers and agency staff, two issuers are optimistic that these products will be approved swiftly upon the resumption of federal operations.