Digital Asset Market Clarity Act draft expected next week as Senate vote looms
In brief
- Clarity Act draft expected within days for potential Senate floor vote by late July
- Merged bill exceeds 70 pages but lacks Democratic support after committee negotiations
- Ethics rules and SEC/CFTC vacancy agreements remain unresolved sticking points
- DeFi sector advocates for developer protections in Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act
Draft expected, but Democratic backing remains uncertain
Advocates expect a new draft could emerge as soon as next week for potential Senate action later in the month. The unified version has absorbed more than 70 pages of text through a merger of efforts from the Banking and Agriculture committees, and the updated bill is said to reflect negotiations between those panels while putting more emphasis on consumer protections.
Yet the effort hasn't yet secured Democratic buy-in it'll need. Two Democrats who voted to advance the Banking Committee's version warned they may not approve the final bill if it doesn't address outstanding concerns — particularly the ethics provision. The bill will need a significant number of Democrats to clear the 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
Ethics rules and commission vacancies block consensus
A major sticking point is a Democrat-demanded restriction keeping senior government officials (including the president) from maintaining business ties with the crypto sector. Beyond that, outstanding issues include federal preemption and negotiators still need to come to a final agreement on filling vacancies at the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The White House sent a letter to Senators John Thune and Chuck Schumer stating Democrats had not put forward any names for minority roles on the commissions. That standoff has slowed momentum considerably. Progress has slowed to a crawl, according to sources familiar with the negotiation.
Developer protections remain a flashpoint
Senator Ron Wyden expressed support for how the earlier legislation handled legal protections for developers under the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act. That measure would ensure crypto developers wouldn't be treated under federal regulations as money transmitters if they're not handling customer assets.
The decentralized finance sector has made preserving the BRCA a top aim in the Clarity negotiations. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act has just a few weeks left to advance in the Senate before the chamber's calendar and summer recess make passage close to zero.
