The US Senate will hold a procedural vote on the CLARITY Act on 15 September, after lawmakers failed to meet their August deadline, while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) moves ahead with its own cryptocurrency rulemaking programme.
Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan has described the legislation as being in a “walking dead” state, with the bill still politically active but no longer advancing towards an immediate final vote.
US Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) said on 8 August that the Senate would begin the process of taking up the CLARITY Act on 15 September. His announcement established the next clear test for legislation intended to create a permanent federal framework for digital asset markets.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) filed cloture on the motion to proceed to the bill earlier that day, scheduling the procedural vote for 2:15 p.m. EDT. Senators will be deciding whether to take up the legislation, rather than whether to pass it outright.
Risch said the September effort was necessary to protect consumers and maintain US economic competitiveness. He warned that continued delays could leave Americans exposed to fraud, while encouraging investment, jobs and financial activity to move overseas.
“Failure to pass this critical piece of legislation will leave Idahoans vulnerable to scams and fraud, as well as cede jobs, investment, economic competitiveness, and financial leadership to overseas competitors,” Risch added. “We must advance this important bill and make it law.”
The procedural hurdle requires 60 votes, meaning at least seven Democrats must support the measure alongside the 53 Republicans in the Senate. Negotiations are continuing over ethics requirements, provisions dealing with illicit finance and the process of reconciling language from the Senate Agriculture Committee.
The new timetable keeps the CLARITY Act alive, but also prolongs uncertainty over when Congress will set out a lasting system of federal oversight for the digital asset sector.
Hougan had outlined a similar outcome in a memo issued before the August window closed. He predicted that the bill could remain active even if lawmakers failed to secure its immediate passage. The 15 September vote reflects that scenario: the legislation has survived politically, but remains unresolved while regulators and market participants operate against an uncertain legal backdrop.
That uncertainty increases the importance of SEC Chair Paul Atkins’ regulatory programme. Atkins has said the agency can pursue rules covering many of the same areas addressed by the CLARITY Act if Congress does not complete the legislation. This creates a parallel regulatory route while senators continue their negotiations.
Atkins set out an interim approach in February, telling the Senate Banking Committee that the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) intended to provide a regulatory bridge while Congress worked on market structure legislation.
Their joint Project Crypto initiative includes work on classifying tokens and considering exemptions that could allow some onchain transactions to take place under clearer federal requirements.
The agencies made an initial move in March with joint guidance stating that most crypto assets are not securities in themselves. Atkins described that guidance as a bridge for entrepreneurs and investors while Congress considers broader market structure legislation.
The SEC’s July regulatory agenda develops that approach further, covering crypto fundraising, custody and tokenized securities. The commission is working on rules governing how crypto assets can be issued, held and traded onchain under federal securities laws.
Agency rules could clarify how those laws apply to crypto assets, establish exemptions, address custody and regulate securities-related onchain activity without waiting for Congress. However, Atkins has said legislation would provide the stronger long-term means of future-proofing US crypto regulation, distinguishing temporary agency action from a statutory market structure framework.
The CLARITY Act would create a wider division of responsibilities between the SEC and CFTC. That would include federal oversight of digital commodities, registration, trading, customer assets and market infrastructure. Those jurisdictional boundaries require congressional action and cannot be established solely through SEC rules under its existing authority.
Hougan argued that crypto development could continue despite the delay, although regulatory certainty would remain unresolved. US Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) is also pressing for comprehensive federal market structure legislation to provide clearer statutory rules for businesses, investors and regulators.
The next congressional test comes on 15 September, when senators will decide whether to take up H.R. 3633. The bill passed the House by 294 votes to 134 and advanced from the Senate Banking Committee by 15 votes to nine.
That decision will determine whether the legislation moves towards a statutory framework, as the SEC continues developing cryptocurrency rules within its existing authority.
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