Overview
- Negotiators circulated a merged roughly 616-page CLARITY Act draft this week that includes an ethics ban barring federal officials, their spouses and staff from issuing or sponsoring digital assets and blocking platforms from listing assets tied to officials.
- Seven Democratic negotiators — Angela Alsobrooks, Cory Booker, Catherine Cortez Masto, Ruben Gallego, John Hickenlooper, Mark Warner and Raphael Warnock — publicly said the draft "falls short" on ethics, consumer protection and illicit-finance rules and will not yet back the bill.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday he does not expect the Senate to complete passage before the August recess, shrinking the window to win the roughly 60 votes required to overcome Senate procedure.
- The White House and some Republican sponsors back the DOJ-centric enforcement and the current ethics language while Democrats press for stronger enforcement, broader conflict-of-interest coverage and changes to the bill’s sunset and enforcement mechanics.
- Prediction markets and analysts have cut the bill’s 2026 passage odds sharply and industry voices are split, with some banks and crypto firms urging compromise to create a federal market framework and others saying the ethics and illicit-finance gaps are unacceptable.