Senate Releases Updated CLARITY Act Ahead of Next Week’s Landmark Vote: What Changed?

By Michael Adeleke

Key highlights:

  • Senate released a 630-page revised bill text on Thursday
  • The new text includes over 100 changes requested by Democrats
  • The ethics section is still unchanged from the July draft, which is a major sticking point

Senate Republicans released an updated version of the CLARITY Act on Thursday. This comes a few days ahead of a procedural vote that will determine if the legislation would progress. The revised text keeps most of the earlier structure but adds a couple of new language provisions.

What changed in the new CLARITY Act text?

Sen. Cynthia Lummis and other Republican lawmakers released the updated draft, featuring 630 pages and about 14 pages longer than the version circulated in July. 

The main addition in the CLARITY Act text was provisions for trading protocols that are not decentralized to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. These are protocols where a person or group can control or change how it functions. 

The bill designates the CFTC and the Treasury Department to write rules for how these controllers must comply.

The new draft also includes language that DeFi provisions cover only spot-market and cash transactions of digital commodities. Lummis said this change would address tribal governments’ concerns about the CLARITY Act’s impact on prediction markets.  Credit unions also got clarity on how to conduct crypto activities in the revised text.

Lummis shared on X that the new revised draft is a product of months of negotiation, adding that they made 100 changes requested by Democrats. 

Ethics gridlock was not resolved

The CLARITY Act’s ethics provisions were basically the same as the earlier draft released. This rule could potentially bar public officials, employees, and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets.

In July, President Trump agreed to the proposed legislation, but Democrats said that the language was insufficient, pointing to the President’s growing crypto businesses.

Meanwhile, none of the Senate’s Democrats are in support of the updated bill, according to a Politico report. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, told Semafor that the White House still needs to negotiate on a bipartisan ethics proposal before more senators can be won over.

Lummis, however, pushed back on the notion that Democrats were left out of the CLARITY Act process, pointing to specific provisions added at their request. 

Stablecoin rewards and industry pressure continue

DeFi and ethics aside, lawmakers have also fought over how the bill treats stablecoin yield and rewards. A provision barring yield on payment stablecoins is also the same as the July version.

On Thursday, the American Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America and 77 state banking associations sent a joint letter telling lawmakers to place stricter restrictions on the rewards stablecoin companies can offer.

Industry groups, on the other hand, have ramped up their lobbying push. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong shared that the US will get crypto regulation but still shared optimism for a resolution on the CLARITY Act.

Additionally, Stand With Crypto highlighted that supporters reached out to members of Congress on passing the bill about 50,000 times in August. Cody Carbone, CEO of the Digital Chamber, shared that the new draft is a product of sustained effort. 

“This draft reflects years of bipartisan negotiation,” he said. “The Senate must act now or risk ceding U.S. leadership in digital asset and blockchain innovation to the rest of the world.”

The bill is set for a cloture vote next Tuesday and would need support from at least60 senators to move forward. White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have urged lawmakers to get this over the line.

Source:: Senate Releases Updated CLARITY Act Ahead of Next Week's Landmark Vote: What Changed?

Updated: September 11, 2026 at 11:35 am
Tags: ,