President Donald Trump has pressed the Senate to advance the crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act. For him, the passage should be ‘in honor’ of the late South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, whom he said was a big supporter of the bill.
The president warned that the Senate should act fast to avoid letting China win on crypto and AI.
A similar urgency was echoed by White House crypto advisor Patrick Witt, adding that,
Critical week for Clarity, which also happens to be the one-year anniversary of GENIUS. We cannot afford to delay any longer.
The U.S. Senate officially reconvened on Monday, 13th of July, after the Independence Day break. It will go for another recess on the 8th of August. Hence, the only window for the bill’s passage is before the August recess, meaning less than three weeks.
Yet, a Senate floor vote has not been scheduled. Besides, if it passes the Senate floor vote, it must also be approved by the House before it reaches President Trump’s desk for signing into law.
On a positive note, the bill has won the support of another major enforcement group, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Associations (FLEOA). With recent backing by sheriffs, the bill has cleared a key hurdle initially posed by these groups.
But banks and Democrats’ opposition remained.
Sen. Warren calls for CLARITY Act ethics provisions
In a letter on Monday, the American Bankers Association urged the Senate to strengthen stablecoin yield provisions. The bank lobby group decried ‘ambiguities’ in the bill that could deepen capital flight.
We remain concerned that ambiguities within the bill could encourage stablecoin arrangements to effectively function as substitutes for deposits, despite Congress’s longstanding and clearly stated intent that payment stablecoins should serve as transaction tools rather than store-of-value products.
Worth pointing out that a deal had been reached on the stablecoin yield. In fact, Witt reinforced the same and slammed the group.
Asked and answered. Give it a rest
For her part, Sen. Elizabeth Warren slammed the bill as a ‘sanctions evasion’ ticket last week. This week, she renewed calls for an ethics provision in the bill, citing Trump’s $1.4B crypto windfall in 2025.
To get the 60-vote threshold to pass the bill, Republicans previously needed only seven extra votes. Now, with Sen. Graham gone and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) hospitalized, Trump will need 9-10 Democrats to pass the bill. And the ethics provision could make or break the outcome.
In fact, the market is so pessimistic about the bill’s passage that odds have dropped to an annual low of 38%.
Final Summary
- Trump has turned the CLARITY Act into a race with China, urging the Senate to pass it.
- A renewed ethics provision call could stall the bill if the Democratic Party withdraws support.
