Sen. Kevin Cramer says CLARITY Act should pass before August recess

Sen. Kevin Cramer said the Senate should pass the CLARITY Act before the August recess, but a revised draft released July 22 failed to win over seven Democrats, threatening the bipartisan support likely needed to advance the crypto market-structure bill. The latest Republican language would bar the president, vice president, members of Congress, federal judges and other covered officials from issuing or sponsoring digital assets for compensation while in office, require certain holdings to be sold or placed in blind trusts, mandate disclosure of crypto sales above $1,000, and give the Justice Department civil enforcement authority, including where exchanges knowingly list prohibited digital assets. Sens. Angela Alsobrooks, Cory Booker, Catherine Cortez Masto, Ruben Gallego, John Hickenlooper, Mark Warner and Raphael Warnock said the draft still falls short on ethics, illicit finance, conflicts of interest and other unresolved issues, while Sen. Thom Tillis and Sen. John Kennedy have also raised concerns. Support for the bill has broadened to Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, who told Politico the legislation would help guide the crypto market’s appropriate development by creating a fair competitive environment, though he said it is not perfect. Sen. Cynthia Lummis has continued to promote the bill as a consumer-protection measure, citing Terra’s roughly $40 billion collapse and arguing the legislation would distinguish reserve-backed assets from algorithmic models and treat customer digital assets as customer property in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill 15-9 on May 14, and the amended text was reported June 1 and placed on the Senate calendar as Calendar No. 423, making it eligible for consideration but not guaranteeing debate or passage.