Senate skips Clarity Act vote, back on the table in September
The US Senate left for recess on 7 August without voting on the Clarity Act. Majority leader Thune wants to take it up as soon as the chamber returns on 14 September, but the sixty votes needed are not there.
The US Senate went into its summer recess on 7 August without voting on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the bill that splits oversight of crypto markets between the SEC and the CFTC. The Senate returns on 14 September.
Majority leader John Thune blames the delay on the Democrats, who he says refused a vote, and says the bill will be first in line once the chamber is back. Whether that works out does not depend on the Democrats alone.
Where the bill is stuck
A procedural vote requires sixty votes. According to CoinDesk it is unclear whether the bill currently has even fifty. Several Republicans have come out against the present text, among them Josh Hawley, while Jerry Moran wants changes that accommodate the banks first.
The most stubborn obstacle is an ethics provision meant to stop senior officials from profiting off crypto. Thom Tillis considers the current wording too broad; Ruben Gallego drafted a counter-proposal. On top of that, illicit finance, the powers of the agriculture committee and rewards on stablecoins are all still open.
The bill is not new. The House passed the text on 17 July 2025 by 294 votes to 134, and the Senate banking committee approved its own version on 14 May 2026 by 15 to 9. That version and the agriculture committee's still have to be merged.
What it means for Europe
Directly, little. The Clarity Act governs the American market, not the European one. In the EU that question was settled by MiCA: who may offer what, and which competent authority supervises it, is already fixed.
Indirectly it does count. Trading platforms active in both markets build their product range around the stricter of the two regimes. As long as it stays unclear in the United States which tokens count as securities there, that carries through into what European users see on international platforms.
What happens next
After 14 September, Thune first has to file cloture, and a full day must pass before a vote can be held. That puts the first vote on 15 or 16 September at the earliest.
If that procedural vote fails, CoinDesk expects the bill to slide past the election. For anyone following the American rules, that is the scenario to watch: not the substance of the bill, but the calendar.
Sources: CoinDesk (5 and 6 August 2026), Bitcoin Foundation. Last checked: 10 August 2026.