The Senate is scheduled to go into recess at the end of business this Friday, leaving only a couple of days for the CLARITY Act to reach a floor vote. While a growing number of Americans hold crypto and there is an obvious need to update regulations to ensure safety and compliance for digital assets, politics is getting in the way of moving the legislation forward.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase and an obvious beneficiary of the bill, posted this week that one in four Americans holds crypto and passage of the bill is the priority for these people.
“American voters are 2x more likely to support a candidate that backs CLARITY (vs those less likely), regardless of party preference. So the stakes are high for Senate leadership. CLARITY isn’t only a win for crypto users. It’s a win for the future of America as a global leader for finance, innovation, and national security. It delivers on all fronts, and voters know it. Senators should too.”
Kristin Smith, President of Solana, believes a motion to proceed is still possible. She says that “progress happens when our industry shows up and speaks up. More than 3,000 letters have gone to the Senate through Clarity for America, along with more than 1 million through Stand With Crypto.”
Senator Cynthia Lummis, a crypto advocate, believes a vote will happen and that the Senate could remain in session through the weekend. The goal is to get people on the record with a vote.
The holdup has to do with Senate Democrats who align with the banking community to block the bill. While claiming their concerns revolve around consumer protections, nefarious activities and threats to the banking industry, these issues have been addressed in the bill. The politics are obtuse but mostly driven by the midterm elections and a potential flip for Democrats to gain control of either the House or Senate or both. Democrats see an opportunity to undermine the White House’s goal of passing crypto market infrastructure legislation. One key item is the ethics language and the Trump family’s participation in the crypto industry. Democrats view this as a way to gain votes for their candidates.
Punchbowl News shares that Senate Majority Leader John Thune will hold a vote before the recess, with Democrats describing the move as moving “negotiations into a ditch.”
At this point, it looks like a vote may happen but passage may not. Republicans paint the Democrats as obstructionists who want to harm the economy; Democrats claim a moral victory. If this happens, the bill may be reanimated in September when the Senate returns. At the same time, many believe the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will pursue rulemaking on their own regardless of what Congress does. The problem with this is that, without legislation, rulemaking can be undone. As the CLARITY Act is viewed as strategically important for the US and its dominance in financial services, going down this path would be a shame.
It’s time to bring the CLARITY Act to the Senate Floor for a vote.
Enough of the obstruction and let’s pass this bill.
— Senator Dave McCormick (@SenMcCormickPA) August 5, 2026