- Seven Democratic senators said they remain committed to bipartisan negotiations on the CLARITY Act after Tuesday’s failed vote.
- The Senate vote ended 49-50, falling short of the three-fifths threshold needed to advance H.R. 3633.
- Analysts expect SEC and CFTC rulemaking on crypto classifications, DeFi, self-custody and tokenization to remain important.
Seven Democratic senators said Sept. 16 they remain committed to passing the CLARITY Act after its Senate advance failed Tuesday. Kirsten Gillibrand, Mark Warner, Ruben Gallego and four colleagues said they want bipartisan talks to continue. Their statement followed a 49-50 cloture vote that fell short of the three-fifths threshold needed to advance H.R. 3633.
Democrats Reaffirm CLARITY Act Commitment
Gillibrand, Angela Alsobrooks, Cory Booker, Catherine Cortez Masto, Gallego, Warner and Raphael Warnock signed the statement. The senators said Democrats had spent two years working on crypto legislation.
They cited consumer protection, penalties for bad actors and regulatory certainty among their goals. They also called for ethics provisions covering elected officials. Notably, all seven senators voted against the Sept. 15 procedural motion.
However, their Sept. 16 statement described the vote as a setback rather than the end. They said they remain committed to bipartisan work on the legislation.
Senate Vote Leaves Bill Short of 60 Votes
The Senate held the cloture vote on Sept. 15 at 2:19 p.m. The motion received 49 votes in favor and 50 against. The Senate requires three-fifths support for cloture on the motion. The vote prevented the chamber from moving forward with H.R. 3633.
The legislation would establish federal rules for digital commodities through the SEC and CFTC. It also includes provisions involving the Federal Reserve and central bank digital currency.
Meanwhile, negotiations before the vote included ethics, consumer protections, illicit finance and market integrity.
SEC and CFTC Rulemaking Remains in Focus
StoneX analysts said the legislation is unlikely to pass during the current Congress. Bernstein analysts expect the SEC and CFTC to pursue specific rulemaking. Their areas include native crypto token classifications, DeFi protections and self-custody infrastructure.
Additionally, Bernstein identified equity tokenization rules as another potential area. JPMorgan analysts said agency rules could establish guardrails while Congress considers legislation. However, they said agency rules would be less durable than statutes.
Eleanor Terrett reported that the statement came amid early efforts to restart talks. Three sources familiar with the discussions told her lawmakers were gauging interest in returning to negotiations.
