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Bitcoin jumped back to $82,000 after the Senate Banking Committee cleared the Clarity Act on Thursday, giving the crypto market one of its biggest policy headlines in months.
The committee approved the bill in a 15-9 vote. Most senators voted with their party, but two Democrats, Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Senator Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, joined every Republican on the panel.
Senators keep crypto industry’s Clarity Act alive as Bitcoin continues to win in America
After this win, Clarity must pass the House, which already approved another version of the bill last fall. If both chambers settle on one final version, the bill would then go to Trump for approval.
During the hearing, lawmakers from both parties said they would keep working on parts of the bill that are still causing problems. One fight is over how to catch criminals using digital assets.
Another is over ethics rules for elected officials who make money from crypto. Trump and his family have earned billions through meme coins and World Liberty Financial, so that issue is already sitting right in the middle of the debate.
Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, has been working with Republicans on the bill. After introducing Mark, he described the talks as rough but still alive. Mark said he had been in “crypto hell the last couple months” and still hoped to keep going until lawmakers could “get to crypto heaven.”
Mark added, “I guess I’m right now in crypto purgatory, but I’m looking forward to getting all the way there.”
Republican Senator Tim Scott, the chairman of the committee, said the bill was necessary since crypto firms have had to contend with inconsistent regulations for some time now.
According to Tim, “For years, the digital frontier found itself in a regulatory gray area.” It also meant that developers, business owners, and investors could not get out of the gray zone since they had to endure the legal uncertainties that would otherwise be dealt with by clear guidelines.
According to Cynthia Lummis, who has earned the nickname “crypto mom” for her stance on cryptocurrencies, the decision by the committee came after almost a year of unceasing negotiations and represented an enormous step towards digital asset innovation in the US.
Lummis has always been pro-crypto, and her remarks reinforced the notion that America cannot afford to lag in digital finance.
“This is a historic step forward for digital asset innovation, and I’m grateful to Chairman Scott. Today’s committee approval sends a strong message that the United States is not ceding the future of digital finance to anyone.”
Crypto firms defend Clarity Act bill
Crypto giants Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN), Circle Internet Group Inc. (CRCL), and Ripple want clearer rules because they believe regulation can make investors more comfortable with the industry.
Andreessen Horowitz also backs the plan, and the White House has pushed the bill and joined parts of the talks between banks and crypto groups.
Banks (really JPMorgan) are concerned that crypto companies could offer payments that look like interest to stablecoin users. They say that could pull deposits out of banks and leave less money for lending. But the crypto execs reject that reading, saying the bill only allows rewards when stablecoins are used for payments.
Democrats tried to add amendments during the committee meeting, but none survived, and they clearly failed in votes. Others were blocked after Tim said they were not written correctly and could not be offered.
Senator Thom Tillis said on X that the committee bill was “a strong bipartisan compromise” that could give the industry more regulatory certainty. Thom also said “more work remains in the weeks ahead” before the bill is ready.
CFTC Chairman Mike Selig said the vote brings the country closer to becoming “the crypto capital of the world.” Mike said the bill would separate digital asset securities from commodities, set transaction rules, and stop regulation by enforcement.
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