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August vote hinges on ethics
US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said any floor vote on a proposed digital asset market structure bill would hinge on three conditions: robust consumer protections, strong illicit-finance controls, and a rigorous ethics framework.
“There will be no one voting for this bill if we don’t have an ethics provision”
Speaking at the Consensus conference in Miami, she argued lawmakers should harmonize the draft with the version approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee and attach formal ethics language before moving forward.
Gillibrand said a vote could occur before the August recess, which begins on Aug. 10, if those elements are in place.
“There will be no one voting for this bill if we don’t have an ethics provision,” Gillibrand told attendees, underscoring concerns about insider advantages and pay-for-play dynamics as the industry evolves.
White House targets July 4
The White House is pushing for a faster timeline, with crypto adviser Patrick Witt telling CoinDesk’s Consensus Miami conference that the administration is targeting July 4 for House passage of the Clarity Act.
Witt said the mechanics include a Senate Banking Committee markup this month, “four working Senate weeks in June for floor passage,” and enough runway for a U.S.
House of Representatives vote before the Independence Day deadline.
He also said the White House is closing in on a deal on the conflict-of-interest provision, aiming for rules that apply “across the board” rather than targeting a single officeholder.
“We’re targeting July 4th,” Witt said, while Gillibrand’s remarks earlier in the day framed her own timeline as reaching the president’s desk by the first week of August.
Timing, votes, and unresolved issues
As lawmakers weigh the CLARITY Act, Gillibrand said the Senate version still has three unresolved issues: consumer protection, illicit finance and ethics, and she tied the bill’s vote count to closing them.
“There will be no deal without an ethics provision”
In The Block’s account of her remarks, Gillibrand warned that “There will be no deal without an ethics provision,” and said she is working with both Democrats and Republicans and through the White House so the provision becomes part of the bill or it will not go forward.
The Block also reported that the stablecoin-yield compromise reached by Sens.
Angela Alsobrooks and Thom Tillis could clear the way for a markup this month, leaving ethics as the next hurdle.
Cointelegraph likewise reported that as of Wednesday the Senate Banking Committee had not rescheduled a markup after postponing the event in January, while Polymarket put the chance of CLARITY Act passage by the end of 2026 at 65% and Kalshi put the chance before August at 49%.
