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President Donald Trump has agreed to support new ethics restrictions in the long-stalled CLARITY Act, clearing a major obstacle ahead of a preliminary Senate vote scheduled for today. The bill would establish a new regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, but Tuesday’s vote is a cloture test, not final passage.
It needs 60 votes to break a filibuster, meaning at least seven Democrats must join Republicans with full attendance.
That math is the entire story right now. The CLARITY Act has real momentum for the first time in months, but it is still one contentious floor vote away from dying.
JUST IN: Trump administration launches major push to convince Senators to advance the Clarity Act
— Kalshi Crypto (@Kalshi_Crypto) September 15, 2026
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What Changed in the CLARITY Act, and Who It’s Meant to Win Over
The bill cleared the Senate Banking Committee back in May but has languished since as leaders struggled to secure enough Democratic support. Democrats have pushed for stronger crypto ethics language after raising concerns that Trump, his family, and administration officials could profit from crypto ventures while in office.
Republican leaders released updated text late Sunday, calling it their final offer to meet Democratic demands. That draft incorporates what GOP sponsors describe as large parts of an ethics agreement brokered by Sens.
Thom Tillis and Ruben Gallego, and it grants state attorneys general the authority to enforce ethics requirements on federal officials, a key Democratic ask. Readers can dig deeper into how enforcement power tied to control over digital assets could reshape compliance obligations for issuers and officials alike.
Separately, the revised bill directs the Treasury secretary to restrict stablecoin rewards if community banks face substantial deposit flight, an attempt to appease banking interests who warn that interest-like stablecoin payments could pull deposits out of traditional lenders.
Latest Crypto Clarity Act developments:
1. Yesterday, Republicans proposed their "last, best and final" new draft of the Clarity Act
2. Democrats rejected the new draft over "ethics language"
3. Overnight, Democrats drafted a counterproposal
4. Republicans are now looking… pic.twitter.com/X2ahwaVpnS
— Quinten (@QuintenFrancois) September 15, 2026
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“Truly Bipartisan” or Not Enough? What Lawmakers and Stakeholders Are Saying
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., one of the bill’s chief architects, framed the vote in stark terms. “This text is truly bipartisan and includes more than 120 of Democrats’ demands,” Lummis said, adding that a no vote would mean “opposing real ethics reforms on politicians’ personal investments, handing American leadership in digital assets to our foreign competitors, and leaving Americans with zero protections in the digital asset markets.”
Not every Democrat is convinced. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said the bill still has significant unresolved problems and argued it should not pass in its current form. The White House, meanwhile, described its concessions as the most comprehensive ethics provision in history.
For a broader look at how regulatory clarity could emerge with or without the bill, see this analysis of SEC and CFTC action.
Why Tuesday’s Procedural Vote Is the Next Test For The CLARITY Act
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, tried to lower the temperature over the weekend. “This is not a vote on final passage,” Moreno said. “It is a vote to end debate on whether the United States Senate should even consider a bill to regulate digital assets.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has pitched Tuesday’s vote as a possible “free vote” that keeps the bill alive for further amendment before any final passage vote. Background on that cloture process is worth reviewing before assuming Tuesday settles anything.
Only two Democrats backed the bill out of committee in May, but a Democratic aide familiar with the negotiations suggested enough votes may materialize to advance it. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has argued that regulatory clarity is coming regardless, saying that the SEC and CFTC are prepared to publish rulemaking with or without the bill.
JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Coinbase says it has a backup plan if the Crypto Clarity Act fails to pass.
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) September 11, 2026
If the bill clears 60 votes on Tuesday, debate opens, and amendments follow before any final vote. If it fails, the bill could technically return in amended form, though it remains unclear whether lawmakers have enough legislative runway left this Congress to finish the job. The White House has signaled further ethics concessions are possible – but only if the Senate clears this first hurdle.
