CLARITY Act Fate Hangs in Balance Ahead of Crucial September Vote

The CLARITY Act, a bill aimed at providing federal digital-asset rules, has been declared 'dead' by some lawmakers just days before its scheduled Senate cloture vote on September 15.

Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, met with multiple members of Congress and their staff in Washington, saying he received the consistent message that the bill is finished and 'Congress is entering a post-CLARITY era.'

The bill proposes to divide oversight of digital assets between two agencies: the Securities and Exchange Commission for securities-like tokens and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for digital commodities.

Supporters call it the most serious attempt yet at a permanent U.S. framework for the sector, but unresolved fights over decentralized finance liability, stablecoin treatment, and lawmaker ethics provisions have made bipartisan agreement difficult.