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On Thursday, the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced legislation that would provide far-reaching regulation for the crypto industry, although the vote was passed only with Republican support. The markup process represents a key hurdle for the legislation, known as the Clarity Act, which still needs to pass from the Senate Banking Committee before it can be considered by the full chamber.
At Thursday’s hearing, Democratic senators on the committee complained that their Republican counterparts brought the bill to a vote without bipartisan support, with many members raising the need for a conflict of interest provision that would prevent politicians from profiting from crypto holdings—a growing topic of concern due to President Trump’s expansion. blockchain empire. In a statement shared by luckThe watchdog group Public Citizen called the Clarity Act a “gryfto” bill, referring to Trump’s personal gain from industry.
The bill, which would represent the most comprehensive financial reform in decades, faces uncertain challenges in the broader Senate, as well as a difficult reconciliation process in the House of Representatives if it moves forward. However, its success in the Senate Agriculture Committee reflects the newfound innovation of the blockchain industry in Washington, DC, where it sits on a campaign donation of nearly $200 million in the 2026 midterm elections.
A need for Clarity
President Trump, a key ally of the crypto industry, urged Congress to pass both bills after taking office in January. The first, a bill that creates guardrails for dollar-backed cryptocurrencies, PAST in July. The more ambitious Clarity Act, which would establish broader market structure rules for cryptocurrency issuance and trading, was also passed by the House in July, although it is still awaiting full support in the Senate.
Clarity faced its first major obstacle in mid-January when a spat in the banking lobby regarding the treatment of yields obtained from stablecoins was triggered. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong to get his support for the draft. Doubting the prospects of the bill, the Senate Banking Committee delayed its projected score. The Senate Agriculture Committee, which has jurisdiction over aspects of the bill that deal with commodities, took the lead.
Although the Clarity Act has garnered bipartisan support, including in the Senate Agriculture Committee, the bill debated in Thursday’s hearing represents only the Republican version. Democrats voiced criticism of the bill’s handling of decentralized finance, or DeFi, as well as ethical provisions that have long been lines in the sand.
“The White House is making it very difficult,” said Sen. Cory Booker (DN.J.), who is leading the Democratic negotiations. “It is ridiculous that the President of the United States and his family have made billions of dollars from this industry and are still trying to create a framework here that does not have the kind of behavior that will prevent this kind of gross corruption in our country that harms the democracy of our country.”
An amendment to create a party-line ethics provision failed.
Despite the lack of bipartisan votes to advance the Clarity Act, Democrats have made clear their desire to find common ground. The crypto industry continues to pour money into DC, with the top-funded network of Super PACs, Fairshake, announcing Wednesday that it has $193 million in cash on hand heading into the 2026 midterms, including nearly $75 million in new contributions from Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz.
Whether the new fund will be enough to push the Clarity Act to the finish line remains to be seen. The Senate Banking Committee has yet to reschedule its markup session, with Coinbase still at odds with the banking industry on the question of stablecoin yields, which represent a significant portion of its revenue. Pro-crypto lawmakers, however, seem undeterred.
“We’re at a point in American history that’s exciting,” Booker said Thursday. “We’re seeing an explosion of innovation going on because of blockchain technology.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
