Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso pressed colleagues on Thursday to pass the Clarity Act before a five-week recess, but the bill remains stuck over stablecoin yield and ethics disputes. SIFMA's CEO defended the Senate draft the same day, while Senator Chris Van Hollen and six banking trade groups keep pushing for tighter guardrails, and a16z warns banks fighting the bill are hurting themselves.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso told the Senate on Thursday that it's time to pass the Clarity Act, reminding lawmakers that the Genius Act passed last year as the first major U.S. digital asset law. Lawmakers are racing to vote before a five-week recess this week, and some Republicans have accused Democrats of stalling the bill.
Punchbowl News reporter Brendan Pendersen reported Thursday that Senator Thom Tillis said he still hadn't heard back from the White House on the bill's latest amendments, despite earlier hopes this week for a vote before the break. Since July, a new draft has circulated with ethics provisions barring government officials and their families from issuing or promoting crypto, addressing a complaint Democrats had raised.
A group of Democrats wrote a letter in July saying the bill fell short. The banking lobby's objections to stablecoin yield paid by crypto companies to their customers — which clashes with companies like Coinbase — have kept the bill deadlocked this year.
SIFMA Defends the Bill as Van Hollen Pushes Amendments
SIFMA CEO Kenneth Bentsen defended the Senate Banking Committee's version of the Clarity Act on August 6, saying it includes a number of worthwhile provisions. Senator Chris Van Hollen, however, called the bill "not ready for prime time" and pushed eight amendments aimed at tightening transparency and illicit-finance provisions. The Senate Banking Committee had advanced the bill by a 15-9 vote on May 14.
Six banking trade groups — the American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, Financial Services Forum, Independent Community Bankers of America and National Bankers Association — have pushed to tighten the ban on interest-like stablecoin rewards, warning the offerings would draw away bank deposits that fund local lending.
a16z Says Banks May Be Accelerating Their Own Obsolescence
a16z crypto policy head Miles Jennings argued Thursday that banks fighting the Clarity Act are likely accelerating their own obsolescence, because blocking the bill leaves in place the stablecoin yield arrangement banks have lobbied hardest to stop. He said crypto intermediaries will keep paying yield on stablecoin deposits under the Genius Act regardless of Clarity's fate. Clarity, he said, would instead give Wall Street a reason to use permissionless DeFi rather than resist it.
More than 200 crypto companies and lobbying groups have pressed Senate leaders to schedule a vote without delay. Galaxy Digital research head Alex Thorn, however, cut his odds of 2026 passage from 75% to 60%, citing a shrinking floor calendar and unresolved ethics and illicit-finance provisions.
Sources: Bitcoin Magazine, Crypto Briefing, The Defiant
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