WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate is racing to wrap up a long list of priorities before lawmakers leave for their August recess at the end of the week.
The Senate has a packed agenda before the August recess, as Republican leaders rush to work through government funding measures, election integrity and key nominations. But another top priority is cryptocurrency regulation.
“As you can imagine, some holes in some of the laws. We’ve been very focused on getting Congress to pass new bills that put a regulatory framework in place,” said Kristin Smith, president of the Solana Policy Institute.
Smith supports the bill to establish that regulatory framework, known as the “Clarity Act.”
“The Clarity Act will provide more tools for law enforcement. It will provide a way to regulate the crypto markets, and it’ll provide for disclosures when new digital assets are made,” said Smith.
Nearly one in five Americans already own digital assets. But a recent National Cryptocurrency Association poll found 42% of Americans would be more likely to use or invest in crypto if federal regulations were in place.
“This is a real improvement. I think it’ll provide a lot more certainty for those using digital assets, but also those who are trying to build in this space,” said Smith.
Republicans are pushing to bring the bill up for a vote before lawmakers leave town.
On Thursday, Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., wrote on X, “…the longer we delay passing the CLARITY Act’s durable regulatory framework, the more jobs, investment, and innovation will be pushed overseas.”
Regulating cryptocurrency is a largely bipartisan issue, but Democrats are pushing for tougher ethics provisions, among others, for their support.
“We still have three outstanding provisions that we have to get included,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in late July.
According to Gillibrand, the first is ethics provisions to ensure members of Congress, the president, the vice president and senior administration officials cannot issue any type of crypto or digital currency. The second is more consumer protections, particularly at the CFTC. And third, more rigorous criminal penalties for illicit finance.
“I’m optimistic that we can get consensus on those three provisions in the next week or so before the vote. But those changes have to be in the bill or it will not pass,” said Gillibrand.
Senate negotiators are scrambling to reach a deal on ethics provisions for CLARITY before the August recess.
