Some Democrats in the banking committee attempted to get Republican support on amendments related to ethics, none of which made it to the final bill on Thursday.
The US Senate Banking Committee advanced a long-awaited digital asset market structure bill with bipartisan support, but Republicans still need Senate Democrats’ votes to pass the bill in the full chamber.
On Thursday, Democratic Senators Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks sided with 13 Republicans to vote for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY) after months of delays in the banking committee. With the US Senate Agriculture Committee having already voted to advance the bill in January, addressing laws and regulations affecting commodities markets, the legislation is expected to head to the full Senate for a vote soon.
“The momentum and progress are both strong,” said Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Ji Hun Kim in a Thursday statement on CLARITY. “The House previously passed its version 294 to 134, with 78 Democrats voting in favor. The Senate Agriculture Committee passed its portion of market structure legislation in January. Now the Senate Banking Committee has done the same with votes in support from both Republicans and Democrats.”
Many Senate Democrats and at least one Republican, however, 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. Banking committee chair Tim Scott and the other 12 Republicans voted against an amendment that would have addressed US President Donald Trump’s potential conflicts of interest with the industry.
Senator Thom Tillis, following advancement of the bill in committee, said “more work remains in the weeks ahead to make this legislation even better.”
Some industry advocates, including Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger, echoed this sentiment. Senator Raphael Warnock said at the Thursday markup that he would not support any bill that didn’t address what he called “pure corruption” by the Trump administration over digital assets, referring to the president’s memecoin and his family’s World Liberty Financial business.
Related: Ethics remain sticking point as crypto market structure bill goes to markup
As of Friday, the Senate had not scheduled a vote on CLARITY, with the chamber in session until May 22 and then from June 1-26, excluding weekends and holidays. Should it pass the 60-person threshold to invoke cloture and vote on the bill, it will then move back to the House of Representatives before potentially going to Trump’s desk.
White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said that the administration was targeting July 4 to sign CLARITY into law, as part of the Independence Day holiday.
US lawmakers discuss crypto tax policies in closed-door session
The House Ways and Means Committee reportedly hosted a bipartisan group of lawmakers in a closed-door session on Thursday to discuss tax policies related to digital assets.
The reported meeting followed Representatives Max Miller and Steven Horsford introducing the Digital Asset PARITY Act in December 2025. The bill aims to change the US tax code to clarify the treatment of digital assets, specifically stablecoins and income from lending or staking.
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