The CLARITY Act is at a critical juncture in Washington as legislators aim to pass the cryptocurrency markets bill before the congressional August recess. While there remains strong support for crypto legislation, recent setbacks in the Senate and competing policy interests have called the bill’s timeline into question.
Eleanor Terrett, a crypto journalist, claims that currently, there is another piece of legislation that will have to fight for its place on the floor of the Senate, namely CLARITY, amid conversations around reconciliation, FISA, and a housing bill that was passed by the House. There are several important questions before the US Congress.
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Senate Delay Hits Crypto Bill
The deadline issue became even more pressing as Senator John Thune, the Majority Leader, allegedly informed Republican senators that the Senate would not come back to work until June and still not finish its package. According to journalist Jake Sherman, the Senate would “go home until June,” leaving the bill unfinished.
This particular delay is believed to have been caused by disputes related to the funding language for the Department of Justice. Nevertheless, the delay itself brought up concerns regarding whether there is enough time left in order for Congress to pass the CLARITY Act before the recess of August begins. According to Terrett, there are not too many working weeks left until summer ends.
CLARITY Act Gains Senate Momentum
Even with the time crunch, however, Senator Cynthia Lummis is hopeful that the crypto bill will be able to pass this summer. In an interview with FOX Business, she made it clear that legislators are having ongoing conversations behind closed doors regarding crypto legislation, including the CLARITY Act.
According to Lummis, the plans for legislation involve combining the bill that has been passed by the Senate Banking Committee and another bill that has already been passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee. The focus of the latter is believed to be on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s jurisdiction within the cryptocurrency market.
She also noted that they are talking about including ethics issues as well as technical issues that have to do with the GENIUS Act before they present the entire bill to the Senate.
Meanwhile, policy analyst Patrick Wilson denied allegations that the CLARITY Act will relax the regulation of the cryptocurrency sector. According to him, the act actually entails new regulations, compliance policies, and even anti-money laundering guidelines aimed at increasing regulation.
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