Senate stalls Clarity Act over unresolved ethics and 60-vote hurdle

**CLARITY Act won’t meet July 4 deadline — ethics fight stalls Senate crypto bill**

Passing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act before Independence Day is off the table. Eleanor Terrett says it’s “logistically impossible.”

Three roadblocks stand in the way.
The bipartisan ethics provision remains unresolved, with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand insisting it address crypto conflicts of interest in senior officeholders. Democrats back her stance. The White House says it will only accept uniform rules, rejecting language aimed at specific politicians or families.

House and Senate versions differ.
H.R. 3633 passed the House in July 2025 (294–134). The Senate Banking Committee advanced its version 15–9 on May 14, 2026. Bridging these texts requires floor negotiation, but the ethics fight blocks progress.

The Senate needs 60 votes.
Without Democratic backing, cloture is unattainable. Two working weeks remain before recess. Talks between Gillibrand, Ruben Gallego, Cynthia Lummis, Patrick Witt, and others collapsed after Republicans withdrew a compromise ethics provision.

Lummis warns delay risks a multi-year slip.
If missed before August recess, the next viable window could push comprehensive crypto market-structure reform — including DeFi safe harbors, stablecoin yield rules, and SEC–CFTC jurisdiction — toward 2030.

Key Senate Democrats are holding out.
Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks tie their votes to the ethics issue, even though Alsobrooks co-brokered the stablecoin yield compromise that bans deposit-like yield but preserves activity-based rewards.

**Source:**
Eleanor Terrett on X |
Coinspeaker — Senate kills ethics amendment

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