US Senate to vote on advancing CLARITY Act in September after Thune files cloture

The US Senate is set to vote on advancing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, also known as the CLARITY Act, in September following US Senator John Thune's filing of cloture. The procedural vote is scheduled for September 15, providing lawmakers several weeks to resolve differences that halted progress before the August recess.

Thune's move brings the CLARITY Act closer to Senate consideration after the legislative body failed to reach an agreement during previous sessions. Negotiations have been complicated by disagreements over ethics provisions and stablecoin regulations. If the cloture vote passes, the bill will move forward for consideration, although final passage remains uncertain.

The CLARITY Act aims to establish a federal market structure for digital assets, clarify their classification under securities and commodities laws, and outline oversight responsibilities between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The legislation has been blocked by proposed ethics restrictions that would limit government officials and their families from dealing with digital assets while in office.

Efforts to resolve this issue have led to the development of a bipartisan ethics addendum, which would require the president to divest from certain crypto-related businesses.