Coinbase Policy Chief Calls CLARITY Act a 'Dramatic Advance': Here's What Comes Next in the Senate

Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said the CLARITY Act delivers “a dramatic advance in consumer protection and market integrity,” as the Senate targets floor action on the crypto market structure bill the week of July 20.

Shirzad made the case for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in a Fox Business interview on Wednesday, describing the legislation as a significant step forward. The appearance comes as the bill nears its decisive stretch, part of an intensifying industry push ahead of an expected Senate floor vote.

The CLARITY Act would create the first comprehensive federal framework for digital assets, dividing regulatory responsibilities between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It addresses asset classification, issuer disclosure, and trading platform registration—questions litigated piecemeal for a decade.

The measure has been grinding through Congress for nearly a year. The House approved its version in July 2025, and the Senate Banking Committee advanced its draft by a 15-9 vote in May 2026. Negotiators released a merged text this week after roughly 10 months of talks. The measure has been added to the Senate calendar, with floor action targeted for the week of July 20.

Passage requires 60 votes, and the Senate’s Aug. 7 recess leaves a narrow window because the bill already missed the White House’s July 4 target for a signing.

Momentum has been building from unusual directions. President Donald Trump recently urged the Senate on July 13 to pass the bill, warning that China could seize the lead in crypto innovation. The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association this week became the second law-enforcement endorsement of the measure.

Opposition remains concentrated among a group of Democrats led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has argued the bill is a ticket to sanctions evasion due to exemptions for certain non-custodial services. Shirzad rejected that posturing, arguing the bill would place crypto platforms under Bank Secrecy Act duties, including anti-money laundering programs and customer verification. “This isn’t a free pass for crypto,” he said earlier this month, calling the measure “a strict security mandate.”

Ethics rules, stablecoin rewards, and developer protections were the last disputes still open as staff finalized the merged draft, according to reports last week. The next step is the floor vote itself, where the bill’s bipartisan committee support faces its broader test. Shirzad predicted the votes are there, pointing to the roughly 80 House Democrats who backed the earlier version. With three working weeks left before recess and midterm politics closing in, the CLARITY Act is down to the only count that matters: 60.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/coinbase-clarity-act-dramatic-advance-senate/