US Senate to Vote on Landmark Crypto Legislation
The US Senate is set to vote on Tuesday on advancing landmark cryptocurrency legislation, potentially determining the fate of the bill. The Clarity Act would create a regulatory framework for digital assets, which crypto companies say would put them on more solid legal footing.
The deep-pocketed industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars campaigning to advance the bill, but it remains unclear if the legislation can garner the 60 votes it needs to advance. Senate Republicans released a new text in an effort to address concerns from the banking industry and some Democrats, but banking groups panned the new draft.
Investors and analysts have said that the crypto market had mostly priced in that the bill would not be passed into law in the foreseeable future. Can-Luca Köymen, investment strategist at digital asset bank Sygnum, stated that 'another delay would be negative but probably not a new regime shock, whereas passage would reduce legal uncertainty and could unlock additional institutional activity.'
The vote is procedural, but it is seen as a key test with little time on the calendar remaining for Senate Republicans to try to revive the bill if the vote fails.