Crypto Advocates Push Senate to Pass CLARITY Act Before August Deadline

CLARITY Act advocates continue to press for the bill’s passage as an Aug. 7 deadline approaches.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael S. Selig said Wednesday (July 8) that “we’re so close” and that it is critical to have a federal standard for crypto assets rather than the current patchwork of state laws and regulations.

Speaking on the Fox Business show “Mornings with Maria,” Selig said: “We want to get this done so we have certainty, clarity and consumer protection. It should be a bipartisan issue. We’ve got to get it across the line.”

Selig said there has been some “mission creep” in negotiations over the bill, with talk of ethics and other extraneous issues crowding out critical issues such as setting standards to protect consumers and investors.

“They’re just derailing this real opportunity to have a bipartisan bill in place,” Selig said. “Otherwise, you end up with regulators like me writing all the rules, and I’m sure all the Democrats would prefer to get something in place that’s bipartisan.”

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said in a Wednesday post on X that the CLARITY Act may be the last chance to get real digital asset legislation passed before 2030.

“If we fail to pass the CLARITY Act, we are ensuring another country will write the rules for digital assets and we spend the next decade catching up,” Lummis said.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said in a reply to Lummis’ post: “Agreed. It is time to put the CLARITY Act on the floor and have a vote this month.”

The crypto advocacy organization Stand With Crypto urged supporters in a Tuesday (July 7) post on X to contact their senators when the senators return from recess on Monday (July 13) and call on them to schedule a vote on the bill.

“The next recess is August 8th, so the CLARITY Act now faces a hard deadline of August 7 to pass the Senate,” the organization said. “The clock is ticking.”

PYMNTS reported July 1 that with the CLARITY Act stalled, there is now a disconnect where private capital is moving on implementation of blockchain financial services while public policy remains caught in legislative timing.