BlackRock and Tom Lee back CLARITY Act, but Senate Majority Leader Thune says no vote before August recess. The bill's fate hinges on ethics provisions and a tight timeline.
The CLARITY Act, a bill to establish a federal framework for digital assets, has drawn support from BlackRock and Fundstrat's Tom Lee even as Senate Majority Leader John Thune said a vote is unlikely before the August recess. The legislation passed the House in July 2025 with bipartisan backing and cleared the Senate Banking Committee in May 2026, but ethics provisions remain the sticking point.
BlackRock Senior Managing Director Samara Cohen called the measure "an important step" toward a digital asset framework that prioritizes investors. She said it could help the United States shape the next phase of market structure while supporting innovation and transparency. Lee argued the bill could accelerate crypto adoption, describing a future where money behaves like software and assets such as loyalty points gain monetary functions, especially when controlled by artificial intelligence agents.
Institutional support extends beyond BlackRock. Lee named Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Charles Schwab among backers. Goldman Sachs, with an Alpha Score of 62, and Charles Schwab, at 63, are both rated Moderate by AlphaScala's model. The broad financial-industry interest presents the bill as a competitive capital-markets issue rather than a crypto concession, Lee said.
The legislative timeline is tight. Thune said July 23 that he did not expect a vote before the recess beginning around August 7. A merged Senate text released July 22 incorporated ethics language aimed at preventing the president and members of Congress from issuing or sponsoring digital assets. Opponents continue to seek further concessions, even after revisions intended to address concerns about officials benefiting from crypto projects.
Galaxy Research cut the bill's passage odds to 30% as time runs out. Delay could push the CLARITY Act into a post-midterm lame-duck session or into 2027. Lee remains hopeful, arguing circumstances could still change, but the uncertainty leaves his programmable-money thesis waiting on a legislative process moving far more slowly than technology.
The Senate's summer recess is scheduled to begin August 7. No floor vote has been scheduled.
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