CLARITY Act's 60-vote Senate test draws Ripple CLO lobbying push

The CLARITY Act faces a 60-vote Senate cloture test Sept. 15 as Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty urges undecided lawmakers to hear from everyday crypto holders before advancing the market-structure bill.

Alderoty, who also serves as president of the National Cryptocurrency Association, said he has personally contacted Senate offices that remain undecided or opposed to the legislation, asking them to meet with individual crypto owners rather than another industry executive or lobbyist. The association estimates 67 million Americans own crypto.

Republicans hold 53 Senate seats but may lose Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) on procedural grounds, according to Galaxy Research's August analysis, meaning as many as nine Democrats would need to cross the aisle to reach the 60-vote threshold for cloture. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) scheduled the vote before lawmakers left Washington for the August recess.

Clearing cloture would open debate and amendments on H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which passed the House and advanced through the Senate Banking Committee in a 15-9 vote. The bill would draw statutory lines of jurisdiction between the SEC and CFTC over digital assets, replacing a joint interpretation issued in spring 2026 that names 16 tokens, including XRP, SOL and DOGE, as digital commodities under CFTC oversight.

Ethics standoff threatens the arithmetic

The bill's most contested section is an ethics provision barring the president, vice president, members of Congress and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets while in office. Democrats led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) argue the provision does not go far enough, pushing for the current 2029 sunset to be extended and for state attorneys general to share enforcement authority with the Justice Department.

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), considered a potential Democratic crossover vote, said she would not support the legislation without tougher ethics language. Republican Sens. Mike Rounds and Thom Tillis have also warned the bill's prospects look poor unless the White House shows willingness to compromise. The White House has called the provision a non-starter, arguing it has already agreed to extensive ethics restrictions.

Coinbase policy chief Faryar Shirzad told crypto advocate Scott Melker he remains cautiously optimistic the bill can clear the procedural hurdle, describing a scenario where enough Democrats cross over to trigger what Washington insiders call a "jailbreak," freeing additional undecided senators to vote yes once bipartisan momentum is visible. Prediction markets are more skeptical — Kalshi traders have assigned a low probability to major crypto legislation becoming law this year.

Even if the motion to proceed clears the 60-vote threshold, the bill would still need to survive a final floor vote and return to the House, which has recessed until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The only remaining path would be a lame-duck session between the elections and the new Congress convening Jan. 3.

Failure at the procedural stage would not end crypto regulation. Both the SEC and CFTC have additional rulemakings teed up that could replicate much of the framework Congress failed to pass, according to Shirzad. Singapore, the European Union and Japan have all put digital asset frameworks in place, raising the competitive stakes for U.S. lawmakers.

Industry-backed groups have accumulated more than $190 million to influence congressional races, according to reports, raising the political cost of opposing legislation the sector has spent years pursuing. But that money cannot solve the immediate arithmetic unless the ethics divide is bridged before Sept. 15.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.