Crypto’s Bipartisan Clarity Push Faces A Final Obstacle Course |
Congress is racing to salvage a bipartisan deal on crypto market structure as ethics demands, yield disputes and law enforcement concerns threaten to stall the Clarity Act before August recess. Democrats and Republicans across both chambers are still aiming to advance crypto market structure legislation, known as Clarity, but the path forward has become an obstacle course of unresolved issues that could either fuel or derail the legislative cycle.
In the case of Clarity, it has been a bumpy road.
In January, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong abruptly torpedoed a bipartisan agreement and vote of the Senate Banking Committee Clarity bill. The legislation has not adequately revived since that surprising move.
Racing Against The Congressional Clock
It would take another four months for the committee to get a vote on the congressional calendar. That greenlight came as a result of a bipartisan compromise on yield negotiated by U.S. Sens. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
A positive development, except by then ethics provisions became a significant non-negotiable for Democrats. The committee ultimately advanced the bill in May with the support of just two Democratic senators, Alsobrooks and Ruben Gallego of Arizona. Both made it clear that ethics considerations would decide their next vote.
A statement by Alsobrooks laid out her terms.
“I’ve worked to make this bill better. Let me be very clear: my vote today........