CLARITY Act heads for Sept. 15 Senate test as delay lifts focus on SEC rulemaking

The Senate is set to begin floor action on the CLARITY Act on Sept. 15 after Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture ahead of the August recess, setting up the chamber's first floor vote on the House-passed bill. The measure would create a federal market-structure framework for digital assets by dividing oversight between the SEC and the CFTC, with the latter overseeing digital commodities. The procedural hurdle requires 60 votes, meaning at least seven Democrats must join the 53-seat Republican majority, while negotiations remain open on ethics requirements, illicit-finance provisions and Senate Agriculture Committee language. The bill has already cleared the House 294-134 and the Senate Banking Committee 15-9. The delayed Senate action has fueled public sparring over the legislation, with actor and crypto critic Ben McKenzie attacking the bill as a shift of power away from the SEC to the less-resourced CFTC and faulting it for lacking ethics safeguards, while SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci has argued clearer crypto rules are essential. The pause has also sharpened attention on a parallel regulatory track at the SEC and CFTC, where SEC Chair Paul Atkins has said agencies can provide a bridge through Project Crypto, including work on token classifications, custody, crypto fundraising and tokenized securities after March guidance that said most crypto assets are not themselves securities. The Sept. 15 vote is being watched as a significant test of whether Congress can deliver regulatory clarity for digital assets, a development that market participants see as potentially supportive of broader institutional adoption. What follows the vote, including any further legislative action and market reaction, will help determine whether the bill moves toward enactment or remains stuck in negotiations while regulators continue interim rulemaking.