U.S. Senate leader John Thune has filed a motion to bring the CLARITY Act up for consideration; the first procedural test will take place on September 15.
The U.S. Senate has just taken the first official step toward voting on the CLARITY Act, a law expected to establish an official legal framework for most crypto asset activities in the United States. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has filed a motion to bring the bill up for consideration early Saturday morning, kicking off a multi-step process to end the debate the Senate uses to move controversial bills past the 60-vote threshold.
The filing was too late to hold a vote before the August recess for senators, but it scheduled an initial procedural vote for almost immediately after they return, with the first test set for 2:15 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 15.
Submitting a petition to end debate over a motion to bring H.R. 3633 up for new consideration is only the first procedural step; it does not mean the bill has been passed, but it shows the Republican Party leadership intends to make this measure one of its early priorities when the Senate reconvenes.
If passed into law, the CLARITY Act would delineate regulatory authority between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), while placing most of the crypto asset industry under CFTC oversight. The bill is widely expected to provide a significant boost to the market, helping traditional financial institutions gain added confidence to get more deeply involved in this space.
Bipartisan hurdles have not yet been removed
Today’s move follows Thune’s decision earlier this week to delay the vote until after the recess rather than pushing it through before lawmakers leave Washington, with the delay largely stemming from the fact that Democratic senators are not yet ready to advance the bill.
The Republicans still need about six additional votes from the Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold; the gap has not been narrowed since the bill passed the Senate Banking Committee in May with only two Democrats voting in favor.
The negotiating parties now have a few more weeks to resolve the disagreements that are still holding up the bill, including details on protections related to illicit finance and law enforcement, unresolved disputes over stablecoin yields and rewards, as well as ethics-in-government requirements tied to President Donald Trump’s crypto assets.
Lawmakers are still working to reach a bipartisan agreement on provisions regulating President Trump’s crypto assets, including an annex negotiated with the White House that would require him to divest businesses related to crypto assets, but the White House has yet to respond to the proposal.
If the Senate passes the measure, the bill text would be sent back to the House for another vote before being submitted to President Trump for signature and enactment. With September’s legislative window rapidly narrowing as campaigning for the midterm election enters its peak period, the coming weeks are widely seen as the final realistic opportunity for the bill to become law this year.