U.S. Senate Banking Committee Approves Clarity Act 15-9, Sends Bill Toward Full Vote

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee approved the Clarity Act, the first wide-ranging piece of legislation pertaining to the new industry, in a 15-9 vote on Thursday.

“The Senate Banking Committeeadvanced the CLARITY Act in a 15–9 voteduring a markup session on14 May”

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The committee largely voted along party lines, with Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego, of Arizona, and Angela Alsobrooks, of Maryland, joining all Republicans on the panel to vote for the bill.

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Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said he was in "crypto hell the last couple months" and hoped to continue working on the bill and "get to crypto heaven."

Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., said the measure would provide guidance and standards for the crypto industry after "For years, the digital frontier was trapped in a regulatory gray zone."

The bill still needed to clear the full Senate and the House before heading to President Donald Trump’s desk, with the White House pushing for the bill at times during negotiations between banks and crypto groups.

As the CLARITY Act moved toward the Senate floor after the committee vote, negotiations over ethics provisions remained unresolved, with the crypto industry and Democrats warning that the final Senate vote could hinge on conflict-of-interest language.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis said, "Ultimately, we have an agreement on 99% of the bill," adding that she hoped colleagues across the aisle would work to resolve the remaining 1% after the bill cleared committee.

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The Crypto Times said the two unresolved issues were ethics provisions related to the First Family and language tied to the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), while it described the breakdown as occurring hours before the Senate Banking Committee markup.

Cointelegraph reported that many Senate Democrats and at least one Republican said they would not vote for the CLARITY Act in the full Senate without provisions on ethics, specifically concerning elected officials’ ties to the crypto industry.

White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said the administration was targeting July 4 to sign CLARITY into law, as part of the Independence Day holiday.

The CLARITY Act’s path to enforceable rules depended on further votes and reconciliation, with the Senate Banking Committee scheduled to consider H.R.3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, in an executive session on May 14, 2026 at 10:30 a.m.

The North American Community Hub Statistics report said the bill would create a federal framework for digital commodities, giving the CFTC general authority over digital commodity transactions while leaving the SEC with authority over certain digital commodity activity handled by securities brokers, alternative trading systems, and national securities exchanges.

The Economic Times said the White House targeted a July 4 signing and described the CLARITY Act as a 309-page bill debated over 100 amendments before deciding whether to advance it to the full Senate floor.

In the committee fight, the CNBC report said banking industry concerns included that the measure could allow crypto groups to offer interest-like payments to stablecoin holders and lead to decreased bank deposits and a lack of capital for loans.

Even after committee action, the process remained unsettled, with the Economic Times saying the bill needed to clear the full Senate, get reconciled with the House-passed version from July 2025, and earn a presidential signature before it could become law.