CLARITY Act Stumbles as Bank-Backed Amendment Raises Concerns
The CLARITY Act, which aims to regulate stablecoins and prevent public officials from having financial interests in cryptocurrency, needs 11 more Senate votes to pass. However, four Republican senators who voted for the bill on September 15 have signed onto a bank-backed amendment that seeks tougher restrictions on stablecoin yields.
John Cornyn, John Curtis, Cindy Hyde-Smith, and Lisa Murkowski all voted 'Yes' on the procedural motion but also support Sen. Jerry Moran's stablecoin amendment. This development has raised concerns that these senators may switch their votes if their demands are not met.
The math behind the bill's passage shows that losing any of these four senators would increase the number of votes needed to pass from 11 to 15. If all four were to switch, the 'Yes' total would fall to 45, and the gap would grow even wider.
Banking groups have continued to push for changes to the stablecoin language, arguing that the current safeguard reacts too late and allows deposits to be lost to these products. The Senate is scheduled to stay in session into early October before its pre-midterm recess, but no new vote date has been set yet.