Bessent says Congress at '1-yard line' on crypto bill. Bitcoin nears $67K, Coinbase up 11%. Democrats demand ethics rules; 14 working days left. Citi cuts Bitcoin target to $82K.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that Congress is at the “1-yard line” on the Clarity Act, urging lawmakers to pass the crypto bill before the August recess, according to Bloomberg. Bitcoin rose toward $67,000 in the wake of the comments. Coinbase Global shares jumped more than 11%.
The White House agreed on an ethics package for the bill Monday, according to Crypto In America host Eleanor Terrett. The language was sent to certain Senate Republicans. Democrats said they were shut out of the talks and have not seen the text. The bill needs 60 votes to pass the Senate. Republicans hold 53 seats, meaning at least seven Democrats must cross over.
Democrats have set conditions: rules preventing the president and other senior officials from profiting off crypto. That demand hardened after a government disclosure reportedly showed President Donald Trump earned roughly $1.4 billion in crypto-related income in 2025.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) told Fox Business on Tuesday the Senate is “almost there,” with the biggest holdup being Democrats reading the new amendments. He said there appears to be “some agreement that the Department of Justice would be the prevailing enforcer” of the ethics rules, rather than state attorneys general as Democrats had preferred.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), one of only two Democrats to back the bill in committee, called DOJ-based enforcement “unserious,” according to CoinDesk. Democrats worry the department is sufficiently controlled by the president that the rules may never be used against him, she said.
Polymarket’s contract on the Clarity Act being signed into law in 2026 traded near 47% Tuesday, up from a record low of 31% earlier this month. Even before this week’s developments, Galaxy Research had cut its passage odds to 50-50, citing the shrinking Senate calendar rather than the bill’s substance.
Only 14 working days remain before the recess. Cramer himself hedged on timing: “I don’t know that we get to it this week.”
Citi cut its 12-month Bitcoin target to $82,000 from $112,000 earlier this month, slashing its ETF inflow expectations to zero after concluding the legislative timeline had slipped. The bank noted that unexpected legislative progress could change that outlook.
Coinbase, which rose 11% on Tuesday, carries an AlphaScala score of 21 out of 100, reflecting weak sentiment in the Financials sector.
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