The US Senate has delayed the vote on the CLARITY Act, a landmark bill for regulating the cryptocurrency market, until lawmakers return from their summer recess. Senate Majority Leader, Republican John Thune, confirmed to The Block that the Senate will not hold a vote until September.
"Well, the Democrats are insisting that there be no vote on the CLARITY Act," Thune said.
The recess for US lawmakers begins on August 7th and lasts until mid-September. However, after senators return, their attention will likely be focused on the November elections, the publication notes.
A source familiar with the situation told journalists that Democrats did not want to bring the bill to a vote due to its potential political ramifications ahead of the midterm elections and the growing influence of the crypto industry.
The CLARITY Act bill is supported by US President Donald Trump, but the advancement of the document has slowed due to several contentious issues. The banking lobby opposes the development of the stablecoin sector, which could become a competitor to traditional deposits.
The issue of conflict of interest has also been raised, as Trump and his family have launched several crypto projects, including the meme coin TRUMP and the company World Liberty Financial with the token WLFI and stablecoin USD1, and are profiting from them.
Trump is currently considering related amendments to the bill that would prohibit government employees and their spouses from issuing digital assets or sponsoring their issuance. They contain wording requiring the US President to divest from businesses related to cryptocurrencies, sources familiar with the situation told journalists.
Bitcoin did not react to the news of the Senate vote delay. Its price fluctuates around $64.3k, having fallen 0.6% in the past 24 hours.
The CLARITY Act would open up significant opportunities for crypto companies in the American market, so its potential passage is considered one of the most favorable events for cryptocurrencies. However, the market will continue to develop even if the bill is not passed this week, as stated earlier by Bitwise. The investment firm believes that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be able to introduce rules even more comfortable for cryptocurrencies than those proposed in the law.
According to estimates from traders on the prediction market Polymarket, the probability of the law being passed by the end of the year is 14%, although in February of this year it exceeded 80% and was still above 70% in May. The betting volume for this prediction has already exceeded $5.2 million.
end-content
