Treasury Secretary Bessent Urges Senate to Advance CLARITY Act

Key Facts

• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged the Senate to agree to the motion to proceed on the CLARITY Act, six days before its Sept. 15 vote.
• Crypto and banking groups spent the August recess lobbying senators at home, with the industry having spent at least $190 million on the midterms.
• Prediction market traders priced the bill being signed into law this year at 16%.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged the Senate to advance the CLARITY Act on Wednesday, six days before a Sept. 15 procedural vote that decides whether the crypto market structure bill reaches the floor.

It is Bessent’s latest intervention on a vote that many in the industry treat as its last realistic chance this Congress. The bill needs 60 votes, meaning it also needs Democratic support.

“I strongly urge everyone to remain at the negotiating table, agree to the motion to proceed, and continue the legislative process,” Bessent wrote, adding that failure would signal “that America is unwilling to lead on the future of digital assets and willing to forgo enhanced national security tools to combat their misuse.”
Senator Cynthia Lummis amplified the call, writing that the Senate “should listen” and urging colleagues to “send the Clarity Act to President Trump’s desk.”
“It’s time to stop talking and start voting,” Coinbase vice chair Ryan VanGrack told Bloomberg Television, adding that if the Senate fails, “you get no new consumer protections.”

Crypto and Bank Lobbyists Fight Over CLARITY Act

Both sides of the debate took the fight to senators’ home states, Reuters reported. Supporters of Stand With Crypto, a Coinbase-backed group, contacted Congress nearly 50,000 times in August, executive director Mason Lynaugh said.

The industry has spent at least $190 million on the midterms, Reuters reported.

The Independent Community Bankers of America has run television ads and sent members to meet senators, objecting to the bill’s stablecoin provision. Senators James Lankford and Mike Rounds warn certain tokens could compete with bank deposits.
The Cedar Innovation Foundation, tied to the Fairshake super PAC network, is launching a seven-figure cable buy, Punchbowl News reported. One of three spots accuses banks of a “feeding frenzy” of profits.
Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer and head of the National Cryptocurrency Association, asked Senate offices that are undecided or opposed to meet “an everyday person who owns crypto” first, putting the number affected at 67 million Americans.

Prediction Markets Still Put CLARITY Act Odds at 16%

The bill’s chances look slim, according to analysts cited by Reuters, and Senate Republicans reportedly expect it to fail over an unresolved ethics provision — a view TD Cowen already held in May.
Traders on prediction market Polymarket priced the bill being signed into law in 2026 at 16% at the time of writing, down from about 25% a month ago.

Read More: An Imperfect CLARITY Act Beats More Delay, Say Crypto Execs

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Source: coinmarketcap.com