Senate Banking Committee Advances CLARITY Act in 15-9 Vote, Setting Up Historic Floor Showdown

All 13 Republican members of the committee were joined by Democrats Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks in voting to send the bill forward, while nine Democrats voted against. The markup followed more than 100 amendments filed by senators on both sides of the aisle in the days leading up to the vote, with Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren alone filing over 40.

Committee Chair Tim Scott opened the session by framing the bill as focused on consumer protection, keeping crypto innovation onshore, and safeguarding US national security interests in digital assets. Warren countered that the legislation was “written by the crypto industry for the crypto industry” and accused Republicans of moving to “grease the skids” for President Donald Trump’s crypto-related business interests. “Nothing made it into this bill that wasn’t approved by the crypto industry,” Warren said.

Senator Cynthia Lummis, a leading Republican advocate for the legislation, pushed back, describing CLARITY as a “pro law enforcement” and “pro consumer” framework. Democratic Senator Jack Reed argued the bill was not the product of genuine bipartisan negotiation, accusing Scott of “arbitrarily” dismissing Democratic amendments.

Most of the contested amendments fell along party lines. Scott’s provision on regulatory sandboxes for AI was adopted, while Warren’s proposals on so-called “tokenization loopholes” and money laundering — including a reference to reports that Iran has been collecting tolls in Bitcoin from tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz — failed to advance. An amendment from Senator Chris Van Hollen targeting potential conflicts of interest involving Trump’s World Liberty Financial venture and family memecoins was defeated 13-0 by Republicans. Senator Tina Smith’s “preventative measure” to bar federal bailouts of crypto firms in the event of another market collapse also failed along party lines.

The bill now moves to the Senate floor, where it will require 60 votes to pass — a threshold that will require several additional Democratic crossovers. The House of Representatives, which approved an earlier version of CLARITY by a 294-134 margin in July 2025, will then need to vote on the amended Senate text before the legislation can reach the president’s desk.

“I think it’s so difficult to get Senate floor time, and if they get something through the Senate that has the votes, I think the House will probably pass that identical language, and then it will be able to go on to the president’s desk for a signature,” Solana Policy Institute President Kristin Smith told Cointelegraph ahead of the markup.

Thursday’s vote follows months of stalled negotiations and is widely seen as the most significant policy catalyst for US crypto markets since the spot Bitcoin ETF approvals of 2024. Bitcoin was trading at $80,542 at press time.