The crypto industry had held out optimism that the Senate could finish the wide-ranging Clarity Act in the next couple of weeks. Dragging it into the later months of the year sharply reduces its odds for passage in 2026.
Clarity — even more than last year’s Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act — is the crypto industry first priority in crypto policy, with the hope it finally secures a permanent legal foundation for U.S. crypto activity.
The Senate’s floor process is a multi-stage affair that can take a few days or even longer to advance legislation past the 60-vote threshold needed in that chamber. At this stage, the crypto bill is hardly guaranteed to muster even a majority, as some Republican senators have also raised concerns with its treatment of stablecoin yield and the language of the government-ethics provision.
Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican who has been a lead Clarity Act negotiator, told CoinDesk in a Wednesday interview that the most contentious sections are still open for revision that she said could bring Democrats to support it.
Republicans and industry insiders had hoped that getting the bill to the Senate floor might sharpen its urgency and help drive deals among the lawmakers to iron out the final disagreements. That could still happen if Thune can find some floor time before recess.