Senate Banking Committee Schedules CLARITY Act Markup After House Passage, Ethics Dispute Persists

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY) is scheduled for a markup in the US Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, after the US House passed the bill in July 2025 and after months of delays tied to concerns including stablecoin yield, tokenized equities, ethics, and other issues.

“The Senate Banking Committee has set May 14 as the date for its long-delayed markup of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the most consequential piece of cryptocurrency legislation ever to reach this stage in Congress, as a last-minute lobbying blitz from major banks and a Democratic ethics standoff threaten to derail the bill before it clears committee”

Bitcoin Magazine

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand told Cointelegraph that “Americans deserve a well-regulated market with strong consumer protections and real ethics reforms so politicians can’t cash in on their insider status for personal gain.”

Bitcoin Magazine

Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks announced a compromise deal on stablecoin yield earlier this month that could allow CLARITY to move forward after months of delays.

Senate Agriculture Committee passed its version of the bill in a January markup, but the legislation must pass through both panels to address different aspects of securities and commodities laws.

Senator Tim Scott, the Republican who chairs the banking committee, said concerns about President Donald Trump’s crypto ties were outside the body’s purview for markup and needed to be addressed by the ethics committee before any potential floor vote.

A central fight over CLARITY’s ethics language is whether it can be added during this week’s Senate Banking Committee markup or only later during a final Senate floor vote.

Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott argued that bill language regarding ethics falls outside his committee’s jurisdiction, while pro-crypto Democrats on the Banking Committee, including Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), said they may vote against the Clarity Act at markup if Scott prevents ethics language from being added.

Cointelegraph

Corey Frayer, a consumer advocate who previously worked as a staffer on the Senate Banking Committee, told Decrypt, “Nothing about Senate process prevents including ethics language in the bill.”

Decrypt also reported that a Senate staffer familiar with the matter said, “There are growing concerns amongst Democrats that if ethics is not included in the bill that is marked up in the Banking Committee, it will not be included at all.”

The ethics dispute is occurring alongside other unresolved battles, including stablecoin rewards and protections for DeFi software developers, as crypto leaders weigh whether a partisan committee vote could complicate passage.

The Senate Banking Committee executive session is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at Room 538 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., where committee members will debate amendments and vote on whether to advance CLARITY to the full Senate floor.

“In brief - The Senate Banking Committee is set to vote Thursday on the Clarity Act, a major crypto bill”

Decrypt

Bitcoin Magazine reported that the CLARITY Act is formally H.R. 3633 and that it passed the House of Representatives on July 17, 2025, by a 294–134 bipartisan vote, with all 216 Republicans in support and 78 Democrats crossing the aisle.

The bill’s regulatory boundary would draw a line between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, with the CFTC receiving exclusive jurisdiction over spot and cash markets for “digital commodities” while the SEC retains authority over investment contract assets and primary market fundraising.

The White House has set July 4 as its target for a presidential signature, and SEC Chair Paul Atkins publicly urged Congress on April 9 to move CLARITY to President Trump’s desk.

Even if CLARITY clears the Banking Committee and gets the 60 votes needed to pass in the Senate, Cointelegraph reported it would likely need to return to the House for both chambers to pass a reconciled version before it could go to Trump’s desk to potentially be signed into law.