Forecast Trend Report by Period
A revised draft of the Clarity Act, the US market-structure bill for digital assets being debated in Congress, is due to be released this week. The measure is set to come out without an ethics provision, a central sticking point, leaving further negotiations before any Senate vote.
CoinDesk reported on July 12 that lawmakers plan to unveil the revised bill this week, citing multiple people familiar with the talks. The new draft would merge versions separately approved by the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee, adding about 70 pages.
The ethics provision and several other disputed items are not slated for inclusion in this draft. Without that language, it will be hard to secure enough Democratic support in the Senate, CoinDesk cited one person familiar with the matter as saying. The bill needs at least 60 votes to pass. Given the possibility of some Republican defections, at least seven Democrats would need to support it.
A Senate vote is being discussed for the week of July 20 or July 27. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said last month that he intended to bring the measure to the floor in July. Time is short, however, because lawmakers will need to begin campaigning after the summer recess ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Supporters of the Clarity Act also received a boost. A provision barring the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency for at least four years is set to take effect after being included in a housing bill. That could ease negotiations by making it effectively unnecessary for some House lawmakers to seek a separate CBDC ban in the Clarity Act.
