The latest holding pattern for the bill to fully insert the crypto sector into the US financial system centered on Senator Thom Tillis’ request that bankers be given more time to negotiate the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act’s approach to the contentious topic of stablecoin rewards. It may be over.
Tillis told reporters Wednesday that work on the Clarity Act — the industry’s main goal in Washington — has “addressed many of the concerns” of bank lobbyists who have defended the turf of fixed-income deposits they argued could be threatened by the stablecoin dividend. The Republican lawmaker said, “I would encourage the president to move forward with the markup,” according to a Fox Business transcript of the remarks.
That could open the chance for a hearing in mid-May in the Senate Banking Committee, which must advance the legislation before a final version can hash out for a vote in the upper Senate. If anything else gets in the way of that timing, it could be fatal to the 2026 Clarity Act because the remaining Senate schedule has little room for flexibility.
The legislation faces several hurdles before it can hit President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law. First is a so-called markup hearing that gives lawmakers a chance to pursue changes to the language. Tillis said he intends to give stakeholders a chance to see the compromise text on stablecoin dividends days before the hearing, and he welcomed bankers to stay in the talks if there are other points they want to see through.
“There might be a few more that we can get there if they want to come and work in good faith,” Tillis said.
Crypto insiders have been critical of the banking industry’s apparent reluctance to embrace compromise, as has Trump himself, who said over the weekend that he would not let bankers destroy the Clarity Act. The industry is taking Tillis’ latest remarks as a positive sign of movement.
“There is more momentum than ever for a May markup,” said Cody Carbone, executive director of the Digital Chamber, a crypto policy advocacy group in Washington. “We support getting this bill on the committee calendar as soon as possible and we hope it will be moved promptly.”
Other sticky provisions have yet to be drafted, potentially most notably a Democrat-driven section banning government officials from personal business interests in crypto — an effort aimed primarily at Trump and his family, who are heavily involved in the industry. Tillis has reportedly said he agrees the bill needs such an ethics requirement, although the issue would not come up in the Banking Committee’s work.
Another potential repeal that crypto advocates are eyeing is the push from Senator Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, that some aspects of the legislation — including legal protections for decentralized finance (DeFi) developers — should pass through his committee.
Any further delay of the bill would hurt its chances of getting underway, with about 11 weeks left on the Senate calendar before lawmakers fully disperse to midterm election demands. Senate passage would then land in the hands of the US House of Representatives, which already passed its own version of the Clarity Act last year. Any rebellion among House Republicans could add further questions to the bill’s chances, but for now advocates are counting on the House to approve the Senate’s final product.
The House has recently struggled to get in line with Senate efforts, such as over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
Read more: Crypto’s big hope in Senate Clarity Act still has a way to go to survive tight calendar
