Senate Republicans led by Senator Cynthia Lummis released updated text of the Clarity Act on September 10, 2026, ahead of a critical September 15 procedural vote. The bill seeks to establish a federal framework for digital assets, dividing oversight between the SEC and CFTC. While the new draft tweaks decentralized finance and credit union rules, it lacks the bipartisan ethics provisions demanded by Democrats to restrict officials from profiting from crypto. The banking sector also continues to oppose stablecoin provisions.
Clarity Act procedural vote
- ▪The Clarity Act, which was introduced in May 2025 to establish a federal framework for digital assets, passed the House of Representatives in July 2025.
- ▪The Clarity Act requires at least 60 votes to pass the Senate, making its prospects uncertain due to ongoing bipartisan negotiations.
- ▪The U.S. Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural cloture vote on the Clarity Act on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
- ▪Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt urged senators to vote in favor of the motion to proceed on September 15, 2026.
Updated bill provisions
- ▪The updated Clarity Act draft clarifies that its decentralized finance language targets only spot-market and cash transactions in digital commodities, excluding prediction markets.
- ▪Senator Cynthia Lummis stated that Republicans have agreed to 114 substantive, distinct revisions requested by Democrats to make the Clarity Act a bipartisan bill.
- ▪Senator Cynthia Lummis released updated text of the Clarity Act on September 10, 2026, featuring changes to decentralized finance and credit union provisions.
- ▪The updated Clarity Act text specifies when decentralized finance protocols must register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and comply with Bank Secrecy Act requirements.
Crypto industry lobbying campaign
- ▪In Georgia, Stand With Crypto activists pressured Senator Raphael Warnock, who previously voted against advancing the bill out of the Senate Banking Committee.
- ▪Stand With Crypto, backed by Coinbase, placed op-eds in Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Kansas, and organized events in states like Iowa, Michigan, and Georgia.
- ▪Crypto industry groups, including Stand With Crypto and the Blockchain Association, escalated lobbying efforts in senators' home states during the August recess.
- ▪The cryptocurrency sector has directed at least $190 million toward political projects ahead of the upcoming elections to secure passage of the Clarity Act.
Democratic ethics concerns
- ▪The White House approved ethics language in late July barring public officials and their spouses from issuing digital assets, with Department of Justice enforcement.
- ▪Democrats rejected the White House's ethics proposal, arguing that state attorneys general, rather than the Department of Justice, should enforce the restrictions.
- ▪Democrats have demanded a bipartisan ethics provision to restrict President Donald Trump and other senior government officials from profiting from cryptocurrency businesses.
- ▪Senator Thom Tillis stated that the White House still needs to engage on a bipartisan ethics proposal, and key Democrats refuse to support the bill without it.
Regulatory framework debate
- ▪Banking trade groups, including the Independent Community Bankers of America, oppose the bill's stablecoin provisions, arguing they could harm traditional lending.
- ▪The Clarity Act aims to define regulatory oversight of digital assets by dividing authority between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
- ▪Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that the cryptocurrency sector will achieve regulatory clarity from the SEC and CFTC shortly after September 15, 2026, even if the Clarity Act fails.
- ▪Senators James Lankford, Mike Rounds, and Jerry Moran have expressed concerns or reservations regarding the stablecoin and lending provisions of the Clarity Act.
Debatable claims
- ▪The Clarity Act's stablecoin provisions will harm traditional bank lending
- ▪Congress should pass the Clarity Act to regulate digital assets
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