The Clarity Act, a landmark bill that would create a U.S. regulatory framework for the crypto industry, is set to undergo a Senate committee markup starting Thursday. The prospect of its passage has buoyed investors, but significant obstacles remain before the bill is ready for Congress to send to President Trump’s desk.
Clarity, short for Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, passed the House of Representatives last year but has faced setbacks in the Senate Banking Committee as banks and stablecoin companies squabble over the question of how and when rewards can be paid on stablecoin balances. Now, as Senators convene to introduce amendments, Democrats are pushing for ethics guardrails related to the Trump family’s crypto involvement.
Members of the Senate Banking committee have filed over 130 proposed amendments ahead of Thursday’s markup, with 44 coming from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) alone, according to a copy of the proposed amendments reviewed by Fortune.
While some of the proposed amendments are minor, others seek to advance the position of opponents to the bill, which include banking interests who fear stablecoins could denude bank deposits, and those who fear crypto’s expansion is fraught with ethical and national security implications.
“I think it’s going to pass, based on all the great progress that has been made on both sides of Congress, and the support this bill is getting from the White House,” Steve Yelderman, general counsel of Ethereum-focused advocacy organization Etherealize, told Fortune. “That said, it’s Washington, and anything could happen.”
Clarity nearly reached a Senate Banking markup earlier this year before Coinbase pulled its support from the bill over a proposed ban on stablecoin rewards. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) have since reached a deal on stablecoin yield, but bank lobbying groups are now grousing that the compromise is too friendly to stablecoin companies. Members of the American Bankers Association have reportedly sent more than 8,000 letters to Senate offices criticizing the yield compromise.
In tomorrow’s markup, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is expected to highlight protecting “Main Street” and national security while keeping crypto innovation in the U.S. as Clarity’s major goals, a Senate aide told Fortune. Democrats are expected to zero in on ethical concerns related to President Trump’s many crypto entanglements, a different Senate aide said.
“There are growing concerns amongst Democrats that if ethics is not included in the bill that is marked up in the Banking Committee, it will not be included at all,” the staffer said, adding that Democrats are focused on addressing the Trump family’s profiting off of crypto in market structure legislation. Republicans and Democrats have met multiple times this week to address adding ethics into Clarity.
As things stand, the bill has a good chance of making it to the Senate floor. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a key Republican Clarity holdout on the Banking Committee, told Semafor that he plans to support the bill. But as time ticks down toward summer recess and the midterm elections, the Clarity Act still has an uncomfortably thin margin for error. Traders on Polymarket have grown less optimistic on the Clarity Act’s chances throughout the week. The prediction market now gives the bill a 60% chance of passing this year.
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