Senate's crypto bill faces its first procedural test Tuesday as clock ticks toward midterms
The Clarity Act, a measure that would divide federal oversight of digital assets between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, hits its first test vote Tuesday afternoon in the Senate. Sixty votes are needed to advance the bill, and the arithmetic is uncertain: Democrats are holding out over an ethics provision tied to President Trump's cryptocurrency holdings. The Senate has roughly three weeks before lawmakers head home for the midterms, compressing whatever order book of major legislation remains.
Key takeaways
- The Clarity Act, which would split federal oversight of digital assets between the SEC and the CFTC, faces its first Senate test vote Tuesday afternoon, needing 60 votes to advance.
- Democrats are holding out over an ethics provision tied to President Trump, whose financial disclosure shows he earned $1.4 billion on cryptocurrency last year.
- Lead sponsor Senator Cynthia Lummis says the bill grew from under 300 pages to more than 600 pages over 11 months of daily bipartisan negotiations, with ethics provisions added at colleagues' request.
- Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell are separately pushing for a test vote before the end of September on legislation to regulate college athletics, though no date is confirmed.
- If neither bill clears before lawmakers leave for the midterms in roughly three weeks, the legislative window for both closes until a new Congress convenes in January.
The Clarity Act, a measure that would divide federal oversight of digital assets between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, hits its first test vote Tuesday afternoon in the Senate. Sixty votes are needed to advance the bill, and the arithmetic is uncertain: Democrats are holding out over an ethics provision tied to President Trump's cryptocurrency holdings. The Senate has roughly three weeks before lawmakers head home for the midterms, compressing whatever order book of major legislation remains.
The 60-vote problem
The friction is traceable to a single data point. President Trump's financial disclosure report shows he earned $1.4 billion on cryptocurrency last year. Democrats want explicit rules for the Trump family's involvement in digital assets, and Senator Adam Schiff of California says the current text "exempts the President from any kind of ethical constraints." Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts argues the bill was written by industry rather than by regulators, and says she cannot see how any member, Democrat or Republican, moves forward on it as written.
The bill's lead sponsor, Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, says the measure grew from under 300 pages to more than 600 pages over 11 months of daily bipartisan negotiations, with ethics provisions layered in at colleagues' request. Her argument on capacity: without a domestic regulatory framework, digital asset companies can move operations to Singapore, Switzerland, or the UAE, where rules are already established. The House passed its version last summer with 78 Democratic votes, and House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill of Arkansas is pressing the Senate to follow.
College sports lined up behind it
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz of Texas and ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington are also pushing for a test vote before the end of September on legislation to regulate college athletics. No date is confirmed for that roll call. The bill limits athletes to one transfer, caps name-image-and-likeness payments, and bars players from going pro and then cycling back to college rosters. The White House recruited former Alabama head coach Nick Saban to back the measure in a commercial now running nationally.
Real-world cases are filling the legislative record. LSU tight end Dae'Quan Wright played at Ole Miss, entered the NFL Draft, landed with the Philadelphia Eagles, was picked up by the Cleveland Browns, appeared in a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, was cut, and returned to LSU this fall. Former Ole Miss defensive lineman Zxavian Harris followed a similar path through the New Orleans Saints preseason before landing at LSU as well. A judge cleared both players to compete.
Even if the Senate passes either bill, the House calendar is uncertain. Speaker Mike Johnson expressed support for the college athletics measure but acknowledged it takes both chambers. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar said there may not be enough days left. If neither bill clears before the midterms, the legislative window for both closes until a new Congress convenes in January.
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Filed by the digital assets desk of MarketPR on September 12, 2026. Source: foxnews.com. Indicative figures are not investment advice.