Senate Republicans Push Updated Crypto Bill as Clock Winds Down

Republican lawmakers circulated a new version of the Clarity Act on Thursday (Sept. 10), ahead of the Senate’s return from its recess next week, CoinDesk reported Thursday.

The new text of the crypto bill includes tweaks to how it would address the crypto activities of decentralized finance firms and traditional finance firms, but it largely resembles earlier versions of the bill, according to the report.

Key Democratic senators have said they won’t support the bill if it doesn’t include an ethics agreement restricting President Donald Trump and other senior government officials from profiting from crypto businesses, per the report.

A cloture vote scheduled for Tuesday (Sept. 15) will succeed only with the support of 60 senators, which means it will need votes from members of both parties, the report said.

PYMNTS reported Wednesday (Sept. 9) that the Tuesday procedural vote will be a make-or-break vote for the Clarity Act.

Even if the motion to proceed gets the 60 votes needed for passage, however, it would only allow the Senate to begin debate on the crypto bill with time running out on the legislative calendar before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, the report said.