Senator Lummis Says Big Banks Oppose Clarity Act as U.S. Senate Bill Faces Vote Hurdle Over Ethics Provision

The CLARITY Act advanced on a bipartisan 15-9 committee vote after negotiations, but ethics rules, DeFi oversight, committee-version differences, and a chamber discrepancy still cloud its path through Congress.

BTC
HYPE

Fact Check
All core elements of the claim are strongly supported by authoritative sources. The 15-9 committee vote is confirmed by the official Senate Banking Committee press release and multiple independent news outlets including crypto.news and ABA Banking Journal. The procedural dispute over a 'public official ethics provision' is confirmed by the CoinPost X post, which specifically identifies conflict-of-interest rules for public officials as the central floor-vote hurdle. Paul Grewal's characterization of building bipartisan, administration, and industry support is corroborated by the Senate Banking Committee's own 'What They Are Saying' compilation, which lists the Trump administration's David Sacks, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, and numerous industry groups. The crypto.news X post directly references Grewal noting bipartisan commitment post-markup. The only minor uncertainty is the precise wording attributed to Grewal, which could not be verified from a direct primary source quote, but the substance is well-supported.
Summary

The CLARITY Act advanced on a bipartisan committee vote, with one source reporting a 15-9 approval after negotiations and amendments, moving a major U.S. crypto market structure bill forward while leaving unresolved disputes over ethics provisions, DeFi oversight, and reconciliation with another committee version. Available sources conflict on the chamber and committee involved: earlier reporting placed the vote in the Senate Banking Committee, while newer reporting described a 15-9 approval in the House Financial Services Committee after a last-minute deal; another source only says the bill cleared its first legislative checkpoint on a bipartisan vote. Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal said the markup showed broad commitment to passing the bill, though analysts cited by The Block said significant obstacles remain and TD Cowen raised its estimated odds of passage to 40%. Senator Lummis also said major banks oppose the legislation because they cannot compete with crypto, while Santiment reported a sharp rise in Bitcoin-related social media optimism after the committee action. A separate item in one source said Coinbase struck a major deal with Hyperliquid and that HYPE rose sharply, but no terms, timing, or price details were provided.

Terms & Concepts
  • CLARITY Act: A proposed U.S. crypto market structure bill intended to create a clearer federal framework for regulating digital asset markets and how digital assets are classified and overseen.
  • DeFi: Short for decentralized finance, a set of blockchain-based financial services that operate without traditional intermediaries such as banks or brokers.
  • Hyperliquid: A crypto trading platform associated with onchain derivatives markets, including perpetual futures.