Senate Majority Leader John Thune plans to file for a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to the CLARITY Act before the Senate leaves for its August recess, setting up a September floor vote on the crypto market structure bill. Unresolved disputes over stablecoin yield and a White House ethics provision could still keep the bill short of the 60 votes it needs to pass.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune intends to file for a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to the CLARITY Act — formally the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act — before the Senate leaves for its one-month August recess. Eleanor Terrett, host of Crypto in America, reported the plan, teeing up a vote on the bill in September even as midterm election campaigns loom over the chamber's calendar.
Stablecoin and ethics disputes threaten the vote
Even if the cloture vote goes forward, the bill isn't guaranteed a floor majority. Terrett pointed to two disputes that could keep the CLARITY Act short of the 60 votes it needs: a stablecoin yield fight revived by the banking lobby, and an ethics provision still being negotiated with the White House.
As a result, at least two Republican senators have said they will vote against the bill unless it protects community banks from stablecoin yields. The White House, meanwhile, has not yet responded to a proposed ethics provision that would require divestments for the president and government officials with a stake in crypto companies.
Coinbase's Armstrong backs the push
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong welcomed Thune's commitment to the bill. According to Bitcoin News, Armstrong said a clear federal market structure law would "unlock more investment, more innovation, and more jobs in the United States".
A narrow window in September
Even so, analysts agree that the window for passing CLARITY in September is narrow. The Senate will have only 14 days in session to wrap up the bill and other pending legislation before the October recess, when senators head home to campaign in the midterm elections.
Source: Bitcoin News
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