Merged Clarity Act Draft Could Reach The Senate As Soon As Next Week

A revised version of the crypto market structure bill could emerge as soon as next week, giving the long-stalled effort a final chance at Senate action before Congress breaks for summer, according to CoinDesk.

Lawmakers have merged the texts from the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees into a single Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act that could reach the Senate floor the week of July 20, CoinDesk reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Negotiators reworked outstanding issues, with the Agriculture Committee’s side seeing the most change after its bill cleared committee on party lines, CoinDesk quoted sources as saying. One person briefed on the talks reportedly said more than 70 pages of text were added, with greater emphasis on consumer protections.

The bill, which would divide oversight of digital assets between the SEC and the CFTC, cleared the Banking Committee on partisan lines in May. But i needs at least a handful of Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold, and the party’s central demand remains unresolved: an ethics provision barring senior government officials, including the president, from maintaining crypto business ties. Several lawmakers have said they will not vote yes without one.

Negotiators have floated ideas such as letting state attorneys general sue over ethics violations, but progress has slowed to a crawl, CoinDesk reported. Other open questions include federal preemption and who fills empty seats at the SEC and CFTC. On Thursday, the White House sent a letter to Senate leaders John Thune and Chuck Schumer saying Democrats had not submitted names for the minority slots on those commissions.

The Senate has three weeks left in July and the first week of August before attention turns to the fall midterms, and a defense spending bill may eat into that window. Even if the Senate acts, the House would need to pass the same text, and President Trump would still have to sign it, no sure thing given his recent refusal to sign other bipartisan legislation over unrelated demands.

Related Listen: Ari Redbord Sits Down With the Hosts of DEX in the City

The post Merged CLARITY Act Draft Could Reach the Senate as Soon as Next Week appeared first on Unchained.