Senate Banking Committee Advances Crypto Market Structure Bill

The Clarity Act advanced through the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday with bipartisan support, clearing a key procedural step and moving the legislation closer to a potential full Senate vote within weeks. The committee adopted seven amendments to the base text, including five last-minute bipartisan amendments negotiated during the markup session.

Sens. Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks joined Republicans in voting for the bill after earlier uncertainty about Democratic support. A blockchain industry group representative described the advancement as the first time a market structure bill had passed out of the Senate Banking Committee.

The vote sets up further negotiations before any floor consideration.

Bipartisan backing at the committee stage could improve the bill’s prospects of reaching the Senate floor and advancing through broader talks. A partisan vote would likely have given Democrats greater leverage to seek additional changes ahead of floor consideration.

Key issues remain unresolved, including ethics provisions and developer protections. The two senators who crossed party lines to support the bill in committee indicated their votes do not guarantee backing on the Senate floor without additional ethics language.

Industry representatives expect banks and traditional financial firms to increase lobbying efforts before any floor vote as lawmakers seek to preserve existing compromises on staking rewards, tokenization and developer protections.

Senate negotiators must now reconcile the Banking Committee version of the legislation with a separate version advanced earlier this year by the Agriculture Committee on partisan lines. The Senate developed the two drafts independently, unlike the House approach that used a single proposal.