Revised US Clarity Act Draft Due This Week Without Ethics Provision

A revised draft of the Clarity Act, a crypto market-structure bill under discussion in Congress, is due this week. The updated measure is expected to omit an ethics provision, a key sticking point, leaving further negotiations before a Senate vote.

CoinDesk reported on July 12 that lawmakers plan to release the revised bill this week, citing several people familiar with the talks. The new draft would combine bills separately approved by the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee and add about 70 pages.

The ethics provision and several other disputed items are not slated to be included in this draft. Without the ethics language, it will be difficult to secure enough Democratic support in the Senate, CoinDesk cited one person familiar with the matter as saying. The bill needs at least 60 votes to pass, and at least seven Democrats would need to support it if some Republicans defect.

The week of July 20 or July 27 is being discussed for a Senate vote. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said last month that he intended to bring the bill to the floor in July. Time is tight, however, with lawmakers needing to begin campaigning after the summer recess ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Supporters of the Clarity Act also received some positive news. A provision barring the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, for at least four years is set to take effect after being included in a housing bill. That would make it largely unnecessary for some House lawmakers to pursue a separate CBDC ban in the Clarity Act, easing part of the negotiating burden.