After several months of debate, the Clarity Act has managed to pass the Senate Banking Committee. Now the bill will be prepared for the next stage of review in Congress.
For the crypto market, this is one of the most important documents in recent years, which is why there have been tough negotiations around it all this time.
On Thursday, the Senate Committee supported advancing the bill by a vote of 15 to 9.
Until the very end, the outcome of the vote was uncertain. Tim Scott ultimately agreed to add several amendments that he previously did not want to consider. After this, some Democrats supported the document.
Later, Scott admitted that the discussion of the Clarity Act was one of the most difficult processes during his time in the Senate.
According to him, negotiations between the parties will continue because there are still many contentious points in the document.
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The next stage will be to combine the Clarity Act with another crypto bill that has already passed through the Senate Agriculture Committee.
After that, the document will be revised again and only then put to a full vote in the U.S. Senate. If it is supported, the final stage will take place in the House of Representatives.
Despite the progress, there are still many contentious issues surrounding the bill. And the Senate has less and less time.
Most of the session’s discussion was quite difficult. Republicans and Democrats argued for a long time over the amendments, causing the hearings to stall several times.
Elizabeth Warren was the main opponent of these amendments. She was dissatisfied with both the changes themselves and the way they were added to the discussion at the last minute.
In her opinion, the proposed measures do not fully solve the problem and look more like a compromise for the sake of votes.
The amendments touched on several controversial topics: investor protection, banks’ work with crypto assets, and the boundary between real DeFi and projects that only call themselves decentralized.
On the last point, Mark Warner was especially insistent. He has long called for stricter rules for the DeFi sector.
Despite Warren’s criticism, most of the amendments received support from both parties.
Along with Republicans, Democrats Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks, who participated in negotiations between the sides, also voted to advance the bill.
For supporters of the Clarity Act and the entire crypto industry, this was an important success.
Head of the Blockchain Association Summer Messenger stated after the vote that without the support of both parties, proper rules for the crypto market in the U.S. simply will not appear.
In her opinion, the situation around the Clarity Act shows that in Washington, people are gradually beginning to take the regulation of digital assets more seriously.
But the law itself is still far from final approval.
Currently, the main debates are around two topics: how to control the use of crypto and DeFi in financial crimes, and what restrictions should apply to officials connected to the crypto industry.
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Senator Angela Alsobrooks made it clear after the vote that she supported the bill mainly to continue negotiations.
Ruben Gallego took a similar position. He also stated that much will depend on whether the parties can continue to reach agreements.
Separately, the Senate continues to discuss restrictions for officials and their ties to the crypto business.
It is still unclear how strict the rules Donald Trump is willing to support, given his family’s active involvement in the crypto industry.
White House Adviser Patrick Witt previously said that the administration will not support restrictions written specifically against the president. According to him, the rules should apply equally to all officials.
Head of the Digital Chamber Cody Carbone believes that a compromise on these ethical restrictions could determine the fate of the bill in the Senate.
Final approval of the Clarity Act will require at least 60 votes. According to Carbone, the authorities are unlikely to bring the document to a full vote until they are sure of sufficient support.
He also believes that the Senate will try to complete the process by August. Previously, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand also mentioned similar timing.
The Senate has less and less time to consider the bill. Ahead is the summer recess and preparation for the midterm elections in Congress, so the work of the parliament will soon slow down.
If the discussion of the Clarity Act drags on again or the parties face new serious disagreements, the chances of passing the law this year may noticeably decrease.
