The Senate pushed its procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to September after negotiations stalled, but a former SEC adviser says the bill remains alive despite the setback. Backers point to LedgerX, the FTX-linked exchange that kept its customers whole through FTX's collapse because it operated under federal rules, as the case for passing it. FTX's bankruptcy estate is separately preparing an approximately $900 million payout to creditors this summer.
LedgerX kept its customers whole while FTX's offshore arm didn't
LedgerX, a CFTC-regulated exchange and clearinghouse under the FTX umbrella, came through the collapse whole, its customers' assets segregated and intact, even as FTX's offshore exchange misused customer assets for years. Bullish's Randi Abernethy, who testified on the CLARITY Act before a House Financial Services subcommittee in July 2026, argues LedgerX survived for one reason: its protections were law, not a promise a company could choose to honor or not once panic set in.
The bill isn't dead, just delayed to September
The Senate had been expected to hold a procedural vote on the bill before lawmakers left for the August recess. Instead, Senate Majority Leader John Thune confirmed the vote would move to September after talks stalled.
Justin Slaughter, Paradigm's vice president of regulatory affairs and a former senior SEC adviser, acknowledged the odds of passage have grown considerably longer since the delay. But according to Slaughter: "isn't dead".
Slaughter pointed to a Wall Street Journal opinion piece critical of the bill and last-minute opposition from Republican senators, including Josh Hawley, as factors behind the delay. At least ten senators refused to grant the time agreement needed to move the bill by unanimous consent, over persistent disagreements. That leaves a narrow three-week Senate session during election season, with a possible second chance in a post-election lame-duck sitting should Democrats suffer substantial midterm losses.
FTX creditors are still being made whole
Separately, the FTX Recovery Trust is preparing to distribute approximately $900 million to creditors on July 31, 2026, the latest in a string of payouts. FTX Trading Ltd. and its affiliated debtors formally emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 3, 2025, under a plan the court confirmed in October 2024 that valued recoverable assets between $14 billion and $16 billion and promised more than 100% recovery for many non-governmental creditors.
Bullish, the NYSE-listed firm behind CoinDesk, is pursuing CFTC registration as a designated contract market and derivatives clearing organization while the CLARITY Act waits for its next vote.
Sources: CoinDesk, Crypto Briefing, U.Today
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