Sen. Cynthia Lummis confirmed that Senate leadership still intends to bring the CLARITY Act to the floor before the August recess, telling crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett that "Senator Thune has kept a place for the Clarity Act on the agenda before the August recess for many, many weeks now. I believe he does intend to go through with it." However, the exact schedule remains uncertain as the Senate must navigate multiple competing priorities. Lummis noted that lawmakers have "one more week here in Washington" with competing demands including multiple nominations, discussions over a continuing resolution and votes related to Iran and Russia-Ukraine sanctions competing for limited floor time. The Senate could proceed within days but could not say whether action would begin immediately or early next week, indicating that leadership still intends to test the bill on the floor rather than guaranteeing a final passage vote.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego have reportedly submitted revised ethics language to the White House that could address longstanding Democratic concerns about enforcement independence. The proposal would allow state authorities to enforce a ban on federal officials issuing or sponsoring digital tokens, instead of placing enforcement solely with the U.S. Attorney General. Several Democrats had argued that exclusive Justice Department enforcement would provide insufficient independence because the department operates within the executive branch. The White House accepted extensive federal ethics restrictions following talks with Republican Sens. Lummis and Bernie Moreno on July 22, though officials did not release the final text or explain the proposed enforcement process. This revised ethics proposal could unlock Democratic votes and resolve the dispute that has prevented broader bipartisan agreement on the legislation.
The Major Cities Chiefs Association has endorsed the latest CLARITY Act draft after lawmakers added new enforcement provisions, marking a significant shift in police support for the crypto market structure bill. The association specifically praised the inclusion of state and local agencies in Sections 10203, 10204 and 10309, stating that "the inclusion of these provisions represents a meaningful step toward improving the ability of law enforcement to investigate financial crimes involving digital assets." This endorsement follows the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives becoming the first major police association to endorse the bill, while the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association offered conditional support and the National Fraternal Order of Police reversed its previous opposition after reviewing revisions. The Major County Sheriffs of America has withdrawn formal opposition while adopting a neutral position, asking Congress to give state and local agencies a role in Treasury studies and advisory panels created under the bill.
A coalition of 134 banking association officials and senior bank executives has asked the Senate to strengthen Section 10404, which currently restricts stablecoin issuers from paying interest but allows certain rewards tied to payments, memberships and other activities. Banks argue that exchanges could use those exceptions to provide returns resembling interest on stablecoin balances, warning that such products could pull deposits away from regulated banks and reduce funding available for mortgages, agricultural credit and small-business loans. The American Bankers Association and five other financial trade groups have called the legislation an important step toward federal crypto regulation, but they want Congress to prohibit passive returns tied to the size or duration of stablecoin holdings while preserving legitimate transaction-based rewards. White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt has disputed the banking industry's warnings, arguing that banks are seeking protection from competition rather than stronger consumer safeguards. The banking leaders claimed that large deposit outflows could reduce funding available for lending to households, farmers, small businesses and local employers, estimating the effect could drain hundreds of billions of dollars from the traditional banking system.
Senate Republicans released updated CLARITY Act text on July 22, 2026, merging the Banking and Agriculture committee drafts into a single 616-page bill with more than 70 pages of new language, including a government ethics title negotiated with the White House. The bill divides digital assets into three statutory categories: digital commodities overseen by the CFTC, investment contract assets under the SEC, and permitted payment stablecoins governed by the GENIUS Act, with a maturity certification process that lets tokens graduate from securities treatment as their networks decentralize. An ETP grandfather clause permanently classifies tokens that anchored a qualifying exchange-traded product before January 1, 2026, as non-securities, immediately covering Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, SOL, and DOGE without requiring any issuer action. The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act shields non-custodial software developers from money-transmitter obligations and Bank Secrecy Act requirements, while a separate DeFi exclusion exempts validators and open-source publishers from registration requirements. The bill creates a defined process for tokens to move from securities treatment to commodity treatment, with issuers able to notify the SEC that their digital asset is functionally mature or sufficiently decentralized within four years. The merged text also introduces a provisional registration regime for digital commodity exchanges and brokers, allowing firms to register with the CFTC and continue operating while final rules are written.
