PiCK
US CLARITY Act Faces Uncertain Path Before August Recess as Ethics Fight Looms
Summary
- Expectations that the US digital-asset market-structure CLARITY Act would be signed by July 4 have fallen through, clouding the bill’s prospects for passage.
- If the bill is not processed by Aug. 7, the Senate’s last session day before summer recess and election campaigning, the chances of passage this year could become a key question.
- Political uncertainty around the bill is rising as Democrats push for an ethics provision limiting crypto-related earnings and legislative gridlock in the House continues.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
The outlook for passage of the CLARITY Act, a US digital-asset market-structure bill, is growing more uncertain.
CoinDesk reported on July 5 that Patrick Witt, a White House adviser on digital assets, said in May he hoped the CLARITY Act could be signed into law by July 4. That deadline passed without action. Even so, three people familiar with the discussions told the outlet they remain optimistic the bill can still pass this year.
A key date is Aug. 7, the Senate’s last scheduled session day before its summer recess and the start of election campaigning. The Senate would need only a few days in session for debate and a vote, and the House could move quickly afterward, people familiar with the process said. Working-level negotiations are continuing during the recess, with the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Senate Banking Committee still coordinating draft language.
Political obstacles remain significant. Democrats are demanding that the bill include an ethics provision restricting crypto-related earnings by the president, vice president, senior administration officials and lawmakers’ families. President Donald Trump’s recently disclosed 2025 financial filing showed he generated about $2 billion in income last year, including about $1.4 billion from the crypto industry through memecoin-related royalties, sales of World Liberty Financial, or WLFI, tokens, and transactions involving an Abu Dhabi royal-family affiliate.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said any crypto bill that reaches the Senate floor must prevent the president and lawmakers’ families from profiting from the digital-asset industry. Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat who voted for the bill in the Banking Committee, wrote on X that he would do everything he could to stop what he called Trump’s corrupt crypto dealings.
House gridlock is another complication. Politico and Punchbowl News recently reported that the chamber has struggled to make meaningful progress even on procedural matters. CoinDesk reported that the Senate is closely watching the House situation and that the turmoil is reducing the urgency of negotiations.
Suehyeon Lee
shlee@bloomingbit.ioI'm reporter Suehyeon Lee, your Web3 Moderator.