What A 2021 Crypto Procedural Vote Signals For Clarity Act Cloture

It is one month until the Senate Clarity Act faces a do or die procedural vote on September 15 that could derail years of hard work or put the market structure bill on the path to becoming law. Interestingly, the industry has been here before.

Five years ago this month, crypto had a sort of Washington coming out event. This was at the beginning of the Biden Administration when Congress was advancing an infrastructure bill.

Biden Era Bipartisan Crypto Provision

In August 2021, a group of bipartisan U.S. Senators - Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo; Mark Warner, D-Va; Pat Toomey, R-Pa; Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz; Rob Portman, R-Ohio - negotiated an amendment to the legislation.

The crypto broker language focused on IRS transaction reporting rules and sought to exempt miners and wallet makers from requirements to unnecessarily collect and store sensitive private information.

The young crypto industry came together and trade groups collaborated. The measure even received support from Biden’s Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Senate Chamber’s Power of One

Toomey requested a unanimous consent vote to add the compromise language to the larger bill.

Despite the momentum and positive outlook for the provision, procedure got in the way. Senate Chamber rules allow one member to be able to object and kill an action during some proceedings.