Crypto Market-Structure Bill Enters Its Final Weeks as CFTC Chair Says a Deal Is 'So Close'

Michael Selig, the chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), told Congress the crypto market-structure bill known as the CLARITY Act is "so close" and urged passage before lawmakers leave for the August recess. The Senate returned to Washington on July 13 with about 20 working days on the calendar, a window that CryptoSlate framed as the bill's last realistic chance this summer.

The measure would divide oversight of digital assets between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and give the industry the statutory rules it has sought for years. It cleared the Senate Banking Committee on a 15-9 vote in May, but reporting on the standoff identifies three obstacles: government-ethics provisions, a disputed Section 604, and whether stablecoins may pay yield. Reaching the 60-vote threshold would require at least seven Democratic votes, and only two committee Democrats are on record in support.

The ethics dispute intensified after the Office of Government Ethics released President Trump's financial disclosure showing roughly 1.4 billion dollars in crypto-related income during 2025, a figure Democrats cite in resisting a quick vote. Selig separately stated the United States "will never" have a central bank digital currency under the current administration, and Senator Ron Wyden asked leaders to preserve the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act's language in any floor version.

The push is the clearest test yet of whether crypto political spending converts into statute rather than rhetoric, with a hard legislative deadline forcing the question.