Bitcoin rips as CLARITY Act clears major Senate Committee hurdle, advances to the full Senate floor

Bitcoin surged again above $81,000 after the Senate Banking Committee voted to advance the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, clearing a major hurdle for the most complete crypto regulation invoice in US historical past.

On May 14, the panel authorised the laws on bipartisan traces, sending the laws to the full Senate floor. The profitable markup caps ten months of painstaking negotiations and represents a monumental shift towards establishing a transparent federal framework for digital belongings.

Patrick Witt, the government director of the White House Presidential Advisory Committee on Digital Assets, said:

“The CLARITY Act isn’t solely good coverage, it’s obligatory coverage for the United States to preserve our management place in world monetary markets. Not to point out the sturdy client protections and anti-illicit finance provisions it accommodates, with out which, there are none.”

CLARITY Act’s path to passage

The CLARITY Act goals to resolve a decade-long turf conflict between federal regulators by explicitly dividing jurisdiction over digital asset markets.

Under the newly authorised textual content, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is granted sweeping authority to regulate crypto spot markets, whereas the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) retains oversight over digital asset securities and first choices of funding contracts.

The street to passage narrowly survived a last-minute push from traditional banking stakeholders, together with the American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute.

Bankers had lobbied closely towards the rewards provisions on stablecoins, warning that the invoice may set off “deposit flight” from conventional monetary establishments.

To safe the obligatory bipartisan votes, lawmakers relied on a fragile compromise regarding stablecoin rewards.

The authorised textual content explicitly bans platforms from providing passive yield on idle stablecoin balances, which was a major victory for the conventional banking sector. However, it permits “activity-based rewards” tied to direct platform transactions, such as fuel charges or utility funds.

Still, the laws drew sharp criticism from some progressive lawmakers, like Senator Elizabeth Warren, who stated:

“[CLARITY Act] will turbocharge the huge battle of pursuits posed by Donald Trump and his household’s crypto ventures.”

Conversely, crypto advocates celebrated the markup as a defining victory that will bolster the business’s development. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the laws will profit the American folks by making the US monetary system sooner, cheaper, and extra accessible.

He added that the CLARITY Act “may also be sure that the US leads in the world race to construct the subsequent technology of our monetary system.”

What’s subsequent for the invoice?

While committee approval marks a historic milestone, the path to enactment stays a daunting legislative sprint.

CLARITY Act proponents are aiming for a closing desk signing by President Donald Trump by the Fourth of July, a deadline that leaves nearly no room for error.

The rapid hurdle is the calendar. Lawmakers face an impending Memorial Day recess on May 21, and the clock is ticking towards the August congressional recess.

To meet the July 4 goal, the invoice should first bear a floor reconciliation with the Senate Agriculture Committee’s January textual content earlier than heading to the full Senate floor, the place it should require a 60-vote supermajority to cross.

From there, Senate management should reconcile the laws with H.R. 3633, the corresponding digital asset invoice handed by the House of Representatives in July 2025.

Despite the dense procedural gauntlet forward, Galaxy Digital, a outstanding asset administration agency, stated it’s “cautiously optimistic with a view of 55% probability that the invoice will change into legislation in 2026.”

However, Senator Cynthia Lummis beforehand warned that the invoice, if stalled at any stage, may derail momentum. According to her, this might probably delay the complete cryptocurrency regulation till the finish of the decade.

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