The Senate needs 60 votes for the CLARITY Act. A 15-9 bipartisan committee vote delivered momentum, but Elizabeth Warren’s opposition and ethics language tied to the Trump family threaten the path. Floor vote possible by August.
The Digital Chamber is leading a coalition of crypto firms pressing the US Senate to pass the CLARITY Act, framing the bill as the industry’s last realistic window for federal market structure rules this year. The trade group, backed by the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association, is running parallel lobbying tracks aimed at swing-vote senators in the Banking Committee and the wider Democratic caucus. The risk for traders is straightforward: if the bill stalls, the regulatory vacuum persists, keeping enforcement-driven uncertainty over crypto markets.
The push follows a procedural win last month. The Senate Banking Committee advanced H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, in a 15-9 bipartisan vote, sending it toward a full Senate floor fight. Democrat Ruben Gallego joined all 13 Republicans in the committee. The bill previously passed the House 294-134 in July 2025, giving it a strong legislative track record.
The Digital Chamber, Crypto Council for Innovation, and Blockchain Association are treating bipartisan support as a hard prerequisite for the 60-vote floor threshold. Their April letter to Senate Banking flagged what the industry calls Operation Choke Point 2.0 – an informal pressure campaign by federal regulators that the bill would replace with formal rulemaking. Stand With Crypto has also issued a constituent call-to-action, mobilizing retail advocates to contact senators.
The coalition’s focus is on swing-vote Democrats and Republicans who have not yet taken a public position. The bill needs at least seven Democratic votes if all Republicans support it. The Banking Committee vote showed one Democrat in favor; additional votes are being chased.
The Senate path narrows because of two unresolved issues: Senator Elizabeth Warren’s opposition and the ethics language tied to the Trump family’s crypto involvement. These are not peripheral concerns. They are the two levers that could block the bill entirely.
Warren has opposed the bill, citing weak anti-money laundering provisions and unresolved ethics language around officials profiting from crypto. Her position matters beyond her own vote. She commands a bloc of progressive Democrats who follow her lead on consumer protection and financial regulation. If Warren holds firm, the bill may not reach 60 votes even with moderate Democratic support.
The ethics provision is politically sensitive. It targets rules about elected officials profiting from digital assets, a topic that has become flashpoint after the Trump family’s crypto ventures. Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone has said the ethics deal “will be completed before this goes to the floor, because they’ll want to only bring it to the floor if they feel confident they’ve got 60.” Senator Cynthia Lummis has said a floor vote could come by August. That timeline leaves roughly six weeks for the ethics language to be finalized and for Warren to be brought on board or isolated.
The Banking Committee bill must still merge with the Senate Agriculture Committee version, which covers digital commodities. After a full floor vote with a 60-vote supermajority, the Senate text must reconcile with the House version. The calendar narrows sharply as Congress nears its summer break, typically beginning in early August.
A failure to pass the CLARITY Act this year would leave digital asset regulation under existing securities and commodities laws, with enforcement actions continuing through the SEC and CFTC. The CFTC has recently moved to drop restrictions on Gemini, signaling a potentially more favorable approach, that shift is case-specific and reversible. The broader regulatory ambiguity would persist, deterring institutional entry and keeping BTC and ETH valuations tethered to macro narratives rather than regulatory catalysts.
Four factors will determine the outcome:
The thesis for a passing bill: The coalition secures at least 60 votes, Warren’s opposition craters after the ethics fix, and the floor vote occurs before August recess. Confirming signals include a public statement from Warren indicating openness, a closed-door deal on ethics language leaked to press, and a scheduled floor vote within two weeks.
For traders, the CLARITY Act is a discrete event risk. If the Senate passes the bill, the crypto market could see a relief rally driven by regulatory clarity for exchanges and token issuers. If it stalls, the overhang remains. The immediate catalyst to watch is any ethics-related announcement from Senate leadership.
The Digital Chamber’s coalition has the procedural track record and bipartisan House vote to point to. The Senate’s 60-vote requirement, Warren’s opposition, and the unresolved ethics provision create a plausible path to failure. The next four weeks will decide whether this becomes a regulatory milestone or a legislative tombstone.
For deeper context on crypto market structure, read our crypto market analysis, the Bitcoin (BTC) profile, and the Ethereum (ETH) profile.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.