Clarity Act Draft Could Arrive Next Week – Senate Hurdles Remain

A merged Senate draft of the Clarity Act could land as soon as next week, CoinDesk reported. The updated text would combine work from the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees, bringing together two tracks that have shaped the chamber’s approach to digital asset regulation. The bill is expected to place more emphasis on consumer protections.

The timing is tight. Senate backers are aiming for possible floor action the week of July 20. The chamber has only a few weeks left before the summer break and before attention shifts toward the fall midterm cycle. The process itself could take several days. That leaves little margin for delay.

The Clarity Act would create a federal framework for digital asset markets, dividing authority between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The House passed its version in 2025 with bipartisan support. The Senate version has been harder to land.

The biggest unresolved fight is an ethics provision sought by Democrats. The demand would restrict senior government officials, including the president, from maintaining business ties with the crypto sector. Several lawmakers said they cannot support a final bill without a compromise on those limits, according to CoinDesk.

CoinDesk reported in June that even if lawmakers solved the ethics dispute, the bill still faced other negotiations. Senate Agriculture Committee concerns, law enforcement worries over protections for DeFi developers, and stablecoin yield all remain open.

Federal preemption is another core question. It determines how much state-level authority would remain once national market rules are in place. The merged draft is expected to revisit that issue.