The key vote for the Clarity Act is imminent! Republican Senators Urge: Let's Go Through Procedure Before Discussing Amendments

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Ohio Republican and Senator Bernie Moreno is urging his colleagues to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act for short). He argued that the vote was only a procedural step aimed at clearing the barriers to proposing amendments, rather than the final passage of this crypto market structure bill.

The CLARITY Act is due to receive a procedural vote in the Senate on Tuesday. The bill needs to get enough votes to pass this hurdle before legislators can debate or push forward the amendments to final passage.

“This is not a vote for final approval,” the senator wrote on the X platform. He said that thousands of hours have been invested in drafting this framework, and dozens of senators have participated in it. He added that the bill has received bipartisan support at the committee level, and the House of Representatives has also passed the bill.

Moreno argued that casting a “no vote” on Tuesday would not only be against a specific provision; “this is a vote to darken the entire industry — no rules, no US regulatory framework, and let it grow overseas.” He also said that senators who still have doubts can propose amendments after the Senate agrees to review the bill, adding that this is how this process is supposed to work.

The vote could be an important catalyst for Bitcoin, Ether, and other digital assets and crypto-related stocks. The CLARITY Act aims to more clearly delineate the regulatory boundaries between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and establish federal rules for exchanges, token issuers, and decentralized finance platforms. Increased regulatory certainty is expected to attract institutional capital and benefit Coinbase (COIN.US) and other trading, escrow, and blockchain infrastructure providers. However, if the procedural vote fails, it will prolong uncertainty and may cause short-term fluctuations in the cryptocurrency market.

According to two people familiar with the matter, US President Trump met with advisors last Friday to discuss moral restrictions that may be added to the CLARITY Act. The timing is remarkable because Tuesday will be the first test of the crypto market structure bill in the Senate, and the ethics part Trump is discussing is the same part that has blocked negotiations for months.

Ethics requirements are in Division C (Division C) of the Senate text, covering sections 30101 to 30106. Section 30101 prohibits bound officials and their spouses from issuing or endorsing digital assets in the form of consideration during their term of office. The platform is also prohibited from listing assets issued in violation of the above rules. Officials can keep the cryptocurrencies they already hold, sell their holdings or place them in independently managed trusts. Enforcement powers are solely vested in the Minister of Justice. The maximum fine is 10% of the amount received or $500,000, whichever is lower.

According to reports, Democrats have raised concerns about several aspects of this section. They argued that the wording was too weak, and pointed out issues such as the expiration date clause, the role of the Department of Justice, and the lack of reference to children in the Code of Ethics section.

The morality clause may determine whether Democrats provide the votes needed to advance the legislation, making Trump's position closely linked to the bill's immediate future. North Carolina Republican Senator Tom Tillis has warned that if the White House doesn't help with ethical language, the bill could fail in the upcoming vote. The CLARITY Act requires 60 votes in the Senate to remove this procedural hurdle and move forward, and the Republican Party has 53 seats. Furthermore, the report said that the industry believes that the current parliamentary window is particularly important because the political landscape may change after the November election.