Senate Clarity Act nears vote as enforcement, ethics disputes linger

The U.S. Senate is approaching a final deal on the Clarity Act, a crypto market-structure bill, though lawmakers have not yet secured a firm floor vote. Senator Kevin Cramer, a Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, said of the negotiations, "we're almost there," following a new set of amendments on ethics and enforcement. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed that optimism, telling Bloomberg that Congress stands at the "1-yard line."

For crypto markets, the legislation promises a long-awaited division of regulatory labor between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It would also establish disclosure requirements for certain tokens and fold crypto exchanges into existing anti-money-laundering and sanctions frameworks. Senator Cynthia Lummis, who chairs the digital assets subcommittee, argued that passage is "very important" to provide the stability needed for firms to "remain on shore in the United States."

Despite the optimism from officials, analysts remain cautious about the timeline. Galaxy Research recently cut the bill's passage odds to 50-50 as the legislative clock runs down before the August recess. The House passed its version of the bill a year ago, leaving the Senate scrambling to act within a narrow window of legislative days.

The final sticking points centre on enforcement jurisdiction and a resulting ethics dispute involving President Trump's crypto ventures. Cramer indicated a central compromise is emerging that would make the Department of Justice the "prevailing enforcer" of the law. This would supplant a proposal from Lummis that would have empowered state attorneys general to sue exchanges listing tokens issued by public officials.

Democrats had favoured the state-level enforcement route, while also pushing for stricter conflict-of-interest rules. An amendment to bar the president, vice president, and members of Congress from holding crypto business ties failed along party lines during committee markup. The shift to federal prosecution narrows the avenues for challenging a listed token tied to a public official, consolidating that power within the Justice Department.

Beyond the ethics debate, Cramer flagged the definition of securities intermediaries as a remaining hurdle, noting the industry "doesn't like that" and prefers a decentralization-based framework. He characterized these gaps as "small details," but with the Senate Banking Committee having advanced the bill in a 15-9 vote this spring, Majority Leader John Thune is aiming for a floor vote before the recess.

The crypto measure also faces logistical challenges, competing for scarce floor time against a continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown in late September and a broader reconciliation package. Cramer ranked those fiscal priorities ahead of the crypto bill. President Trump has personally pressured the Senate to act, framing the legislation as necessary to counter competition from China.