Summary
- The outlook for Senate action on the US digital-asset market structure Clarity Act has become uncertain as the White House reviews changes to the bill’s ethics provisions and disagreements persist over yield.
- If Senate Majority Leader John Thune does not seek a cloture vote, a vote on the bill before the recess could effectively be out of reach.
- Whether lawmakers can reach agreement on the yield payments provision for crypto products including stablecoins and on the bipartisan ethics provisions is likely to determine whether the Clarity Act can move before the recess.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
The US Senate’s path for the Clarity Act, a digital-asset market structure bill, is becoming increasingly uncertain. A White House review of proposed changes to the bill’s ethics provisions, along with disagreements over yield on stablecoins, has cast doubt on whether a procedural vote can take place before the chamber goes into recess.
Eleanor Terrett, host of Crypto America, reported on Aug. 6 that the White House is reviewing a bipartisan amendment to the ethics language drafted by Republican Senator Thom Tillis and Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego. Lawmakers are waiting for the White House to respond or offer a revised proposal.
The central question is whether Senate Majority Leader John Thune will file for cloture, the procedural step needed to begin formal consideration of the Clarity Act. Terrett said both parties fear that if a cloture vote fails, the legislative push that has lasted nearly a year could unravel.
At the same time, pressure is rising from the crypto industry and within the Republican Party to advance the bill before the Senate recess. If Thune does not file for cloture by the evening of Aug. 6, a vote before the recess may effectively be out of reach.
A separate dispute over whether crypto products, including stablecoins, should be allowed to offer yield has also emerged as a new variable. Some senators are seeking changes to that provision, and those efforts have gained momentum after a recent Wall Street Journal opinion article.
Terrett previously said crypto policy officials were stuck in an unusual stalemate and that the White House had begun engaging seriously with the bipartisan ethics proposal from Tillis and Gallego. Whether lawmakers can reach agreement on the ethics language and the yield issue will determine whether the Clarity Act can advance before the recess.
