Clarity Act odds sink to 27% after Senate delays crypto bill

The Senate leaves for summer break in a week, and the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act still has no motion to proceed on the floor. That first procedural step, required to advance any bill through the chamber, had not been filed as of Friday, July 31.

Industry lobbyists now say a procedural vote this week could tee the bill up for passage when the Senate returns from recess in September. That path is far from certain.

Senators Ruben Gallego and Thom Tillis sent a revised ethics proposal to the White House on Thursday, an industry source familiar with the talks told CoinDesk. The two drafted the compromise the day before. As of midafternoon Friday, the White House had not officially responded.

Ethics remains the biggest outstanding issue before the Clarity Act can advance. Two industry sources said other negotiations, covering stablecoin reserves and yield, law enforcement authorities, and some Agriculture Committee provisions on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's remit, are relatively uncomplicated compared to ethics. One source expected those items to resolve quickly should negotiators reach a deal on ethics.

If the White House signs off on the Tillis-Gallego counter-proposal, that could speed the way to at least the first part of the cloture process, the other source told CoinDesk. The Senate would still need to follow the full cloture process, which makes it difficult to get the bill all the way through by the end of the week. A first procedural vote would still be a visible win for the crypto industry, should it happen.