CLARITY Act Heads Toward August Recess Without the Votes to Pass

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the bill meant to divide oversight of crypto between US regulators and give tokens a path out of securities-law limbo, is running out of legislative time. Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, a prominent bitcoin advocate, attacked Democrats for stalling the bill, arguing the current framework "is not working" for the industry, consumers or law enforcement. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged lawmakers to vote and quoted Satoshi Nakamoto in doing so.

The dispute centers on an ethics provision that would bar top officials, including the President, from participating in crypto ventures. President Trump agreed to a compromise, but several Democrats say the restriction does not go far enough. Republicans hold 53 Senate seats and need 60 votes, which requires at least seven Democrats to vote with them, and Senate leadership has signaled the bill is unlikely to clear before the recess that begins in early August. CoinDesk's advisory desk went so far as to ask whether the Clarity Act is dead.

Industry pressure is mounting from unexpected sources. A professional law-enforcement group has endorsed the bill, and Senators Thom Tillis and Ruben Gallego reportedly sent the White House revised ethics language that would shift enforcement of a federal token-issuance ban to state authorities. If the Senate does not act before the break, debate resumes in September.