Senators near CLARITY Act ethics deal as developer dispute persists

Senate negotiations over the CLARITY Act have made progress on ethics and picked up support from the Major Cities Chiefs Association, but the bill still faces unresolved fights over software-developer protections, illicit-finance enforcement and stablecoin provisions before the August 7 recess. Senators Thom Tillis and Ruben Gallego finalized a bipartisan rewrite of the bill's conflict-of-interest section on July 29, tightening restrictions on senior federal officials' involvement with digital assets after Democrats objected to a July 22 White House-backed proposal as too weak, especially because it included a 2029 sunset clause. The revised text had not been released publicly, and support remained unsettled, with reports indicating Democrats were unlikely to back the measure without ethics changes and Tillis also signaling he would oppose the bill absent an agreed ethics baseline. The Major Cities Chiefs Association said the latest draft addresses law-enforcement concerns by adding provisions, including explicit coverage for state and local enforcement agencies in Sections 10203, 10204 and 10309. Even so, Democrats led by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and prosecutors continue to push for changes to the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act provisions that protect certain crypto software developers from money-transmitter treatment and, according to supporters, from liability for user crimes absent intent to facilitate money laundering. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has indicated a procedural vote could come between July 29 and August 1, but he has also expressed doubt that the full bill can be completed before the recess. Polymarket, a crypto prediction platform, showed 30% odds that President Donald Trump would sign the bill into law in 2025.