US Senate stalls CLARITY Act amid ethics dispute and Trump meeting

The CLARITY Act, a bill that would divide digital‑asset oversight between the SEC and the CFTC, cleared the House in July 2025 but remains blocked in the Senate. Passage requires 60 votes; Republicans hold 53 seats, so Democratic support is essential. Senate Democrats object to the bill’s lack of strong ethics provisions that would bar the president, members of Congress, and senior officials from holding or profiting from cryptocurrencies. President Donald Trump has scheduled a White House meeting with senators—including Bernie Moreno and Cynthia Lummis—to discuss the ethics clause and try to secure a vote before the Senate’s August 2026 recess. Prediction‑market platform Polymarket has cut the odds of the bill becoming law to a record low, trading below 5 % for a full‑year passage. Industry groups such as Ripple, the Blockchain Association and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act lobby for the legislation, arguing it would give firms regulatory clarity, attract investment back to the United States and strengthen law‑enforcement tools against crypto‑related crime. The Senate Banking Committee approved the bill 15‑9 in May, and some reports note growing bipartisan support, but the ethics deadlock persists, keeping the crypto market in regulatory limbo.