With the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act now set for a cloture vote in September, many advocates and industry leaders are frustrated and disappointed at lawmakers’ failure to act before the US Senate broke for a month-long recess.
On Saturday, the Senate Daily Press reported that Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on a motion for the CLARITY Act to go to the chamber floor for consideration, ending speculation that lawmakers would address the bill more than a year after it was passed by the House of Representatives. The CLARITY vote is now expected when the Senate reconvenes in mid-September, and would require support from 60 senators to pass.
Across the crypto industry, many executives and advocates expressed their disappointment with the Senate’s inaction, as the push to September will happen with just 50 days before the 2026 midterm elections, likely reducing the odds of CLARITY passing.
“[Y]ou can imagine how frustrated I am,” said Senator Cythnia Lummis on Friday after the chamber did not schedule a vote on CLARITY, adding: “I will continue working with my colleagues to get this done — this fight is far from over.”
Source: Cynthia Lummis
Others, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and the exchange’s chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad, called the Senate’s action “disappointing” but said that September would be the time to “finish the job.” Bitmine Chair Tom Lee noted in the company’s weekly report that “financial markets seem more focused on the recent softer inflation and jobs data” rather than any potential impact of CLARITY not passing.
While there were reports of progress in bipartisan talks on the crypto market structure bill, lawmakers in the Senate didn’t announce solutions in response to pushes from many Democrats for stricter ethics provisions, in particular for rules affecting US President Donald Trump’s crypto investments. Trump continues to face scrutiny from many in Congress over his family’s crypto business, World Liberty Financial, and his own projects, including the memecoin launched days before he took office.
Some banking advocates, in contrast, have been pushing lawmakers to address how CLARITY could still allow companies to pay interest to stablecoin holders in certain situations, challenging the industry. In a Thursday Wall Street Journal op-ed published before Thune’s cloture motion, the publication’s editorial board said that, under CLARITY, small banks would miss out “because they rely on interest payments to attract deposits.“ The editorial continued:
“The Clarity Act can serve a useful purpose with some language changes,“ said the editorial board. “The crypto industry and its friends in Washington portray themselves as defenders of free markets. What they really want is to be quasi-banks without abiding by the same regulations.“
Prediction market users still anticipating CLARITY by 2027
Despite the setback for the bill in Congress, some event contracts on prediction market platforms are still offering users favorable odds on CLARITY passing by the end of the year.
On Kalshi, an event contract with $1.23 million wagered gave users an 88% chance of the Senate voting on the legislation before Oct. 1, while a similar one on Polymarket gave a 26% chance of the bill being signed into law this year. That contract had total wagers topping $5.79 million. If passed by the Senate, CLARITY would need to return to the House for a vote before potentially going to Trump’s desk.
