Bottom line: Clarity is unlikely to come up for a vote until next week – the final days before the House’s summer recess scheduled to begin Aug. 8. The highly controversial Market Structure Bill is not yet ready for a vote anyway, as the parties continue to try to compromise on a controversial provision that stands in the way of a deal: the ban on top government officials, including President Donald Trump, from supporting crypto projects.
Thune’s office told CoinDesk last week that its next priority would be Russian legislation. Although the majority leader also said he hoped to achieve Clarity before the holidays, he said leadership should “see where the votes are.”
At this point in the Senate calendar, every hour of speaking time is a precious commodity, and the debate over the Clarity Act has still not resolved some of the major outstanding points, particularly the section on government ethics, which was the subject of an event Monday hosted by Democrats opposed to the Clarity Act and the president’s crypto activities.
Significant disagreements at this point could reduce the chances of Clarity becoming law in 2026, potentially plunging the industry into some uncertainty over the timing of U.S. regulation. If this legislation fails, the next best path to regulatory legitimacy is continued implementation of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act and the policy efforts of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
