Sen. Thune Says a CLARITY Act Vote Is Coming This Week

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he still expects a floor vote on the CLARITY Act this week, even as the chamber has just four legislative days left before its August recess.

Galaxy Research has reduced the enactment odds from 50% to 30% this week. The bill needs 60 votes to pass, but Republicans hold only 53 Senate seats, meaning at least seven Democrats must support it.

Thune’s latest comments repeat a promise he has made and walked back before. On July 23, he told reporters he did not expect the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to reach the floor before summer recess due to insufficient votes. Now, he has reversed course, saying the Senate will work through its packed calendar to get the crypto market-structure bill completed. “We have a bunch of stuff that we have to finish, and we’ll just stay here until we finish it,” Thune said.

The Senate missed a scheduled floor vote on Monday, leaving only four legislative days before the chamber breaks on August 7 and does not return until September 14. Missing this window would not kill the bill but would delay it until the fall, when midterm-year politics consume legislative time.

To secure 60 votes, Republicans need at least seven Democrats on board. The White House and Senate Republicans reached an agreement on ethics language in late July, with President Trump signing off on a compromise. However, Democrats say they have not seen the actual text and argue the described language would still allow Trump to profit from his crypto ventures.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the legislation as being at the “one-yard line.” Prediction markets show mixed odds: JPMorgan estimates 37% passage probability, while Polymarket puts it at 26%.

More than 1,200 tech companies, including Grayscale and Charles Schwab, have urged the Senate to act quickly, citing the bill as a “fundamental catalyst” for institutional crypto adoption. However, a coalition of 134 bank leaders has raised concerns about specific provisions, indicating a multi-sided negotiation over market rules.

If passed this week, the CLARITY Act would become the first comprehensive federal market-structure law for digital assets, splitting oversight between the SEC and CFTC based on token classification.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/regulation-and-legal/thune-clarity-act-vote-senate-recess/