US Senate Majority Leader John Thune has filed cloture on a motion to take up the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, also known as the CLARITY Act, setting up a key procedural vote on the crypto market structure bill for September.
The vote is expected after the Senate reconvenes on Sept. 15, giving lawmakers several more weeks to resolve disagreements that prevented a deal before the August recess.
The Senate Daily Press confirmed that Thune filed cloture on the motion to bring the CLARITY Act to the Senate floor for consideration. Invoking cloture requires 60 votes, meaning Republicans will need Democratic support to clear the procedural hurdle.
Thunes move puts the CLARITY Act on a path toward Senate consideration after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement before the August recess. Negotiations have been complicated by disagreements over ethics provisions and rules governing stablecoin rewards, among other issues.
Source: Eleanor Terrett
While the move marks progress for the legislation, it does not guarantee that the CLARITY Act will receive a final vote or pass the Senate. The cloture vote concerns whether to take up the legislation for consideration, rather than passage of the bill itself.
The CLARITY Act is considered a landmark piece of US crypto legislation that would establish a federal market structure for digital assets, clarify when crypto assets fall under securities or commodities laws and delineate oversight responsibilities between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Until now, negotiations have stalled over proposed ethics provisions that would restrict government officials and their families from issuing or profiting from digital assets while in office.
In an effort to break that impasse, lawmakers have been reportedly working on a bipartisan ethics addendum aimed at addressing Democratic concerns over President Donald Trumps crypto-related financial interests. As Bloomberg reported Thursday, the proposal would require the president to divest from certain crypto-related businesses.
Magazine: CLARITY hopes fade, BitMEX shuts as lawsuit looms: Hodlers Digest, July 26