Senate Delays CLARITY Act Crypto Vote
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- CLARITY Act cloture vote was delayed in the Senate, with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and CPO Faryar Shirzad calling the move "disappointing" but pointing to September as the window to "finish the job."
- Senate Democrats withheld support over demands for stricter ethics provisions tied to President Trump's crypto investments, including his family business World Liberty Financial and a memecoin launched just before his inauguration.
- Wall Street Journal editorial board argued against the bill, saying CLARITY would let crypto firms act "as quasi-banks without abiding by the same regulations" and specifically warned small banks — which rely on interest payments to attract deposits — would lose out.
- Bitmine Chair Tom Lee noted in a weekly report that "financial markets seem more focused on the recent softer inflation and jobs data" than the CLARITY delay.
- Kalshi priced an 88% chance the Senate votes on the legislation before Oct. 1, with $1.23 million wagered on that contract, while Polymarket gave only a 26% chance the bill is signed into law this year, with over $5.79 million wagered.
- Even if the Senate passes CLARITY, the bill must return to the House for a new vote before potentially reaching Trump's desk.
Why it matters: The delay locks in regulatory uncertainty for the US crypto industry — Polymarket puts just a 26% chance on full passage this year — while the stalemate has two distinct fault lines: Democrats want ethics guardrails around Trump's crypto ventures, and bankers want the stablecoin-interest loophole closed, leaving small-bank deposit models exposed if the bill passes as written.
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