Senate delays Clarity Act vote to September, hitting XRP 5.5%

The US Senate has pushed the Clarity Act floor vote to September, leaving the digital-asset market structure bill without a vote before the August recess and sending XRP down 5.5% on the week.

The Senate has delayed a floor vote on the Clarity Act, the digital-asset market structure bill, until September, ending any chance of passage before the August recess and leaving the crypto industry's central regulatory priority in limbo. Ripple-linked XRP fell 5.5% on the week, the worst performer among major cryptocurrencies, while Bitcoin held steady above $64,000 and ether showed only slight losses, according to CoinDesk data.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune pushed the vote to September, with the chamber preparing the legislation so it can move as soon as lawmakers return from recess, Jordain Carney, senior congressional reporter at Politico, wrote on X on Aug. 6. Thune could still file cloture, the procedural step needed to advance consideration, but a final floor vote would come after lawmakers return to Washington around Sept. 14, where the bill would need 60 votes to invoke cloture.

The House passed the bill in July 2025 by a 294-134 margin, with more than 70 Democrats joining nearly all Republicans, and the Senate Banking Committee advanced its negotiated version on May 14 by a 15-9 vote. The bill has sat on the Senate Legislative Calendar as Calendar No. 423 since June 1, eligible for a floor vote whenever leadership chose to schedule one. Democrats have refused to agree to a timetable for clearing the remaining bills before the recess, saying more talks are needed over ethics provisions and over yield payments on crypto products including stablecoins.

Ethics provisions and yield payments stall bipartisan deal

The delay stems from unresolved disputes over an ethics provision drafted by Republican Senator Thom Tillis and Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego, aimed at limiting senior government officials' ability to profit from the crypto industry. The White House reached a partial agreement with lawmakers in recent weeks, but Democrats have signaled the current terms may not go far enough. Disagreements over yield payments on crypto products, including stablecoins, have also emerged as a late-stage issue, alongside provisions addressing illicit finance and agricultural commodities.

Competing legislative priorities, including federal nominations and a Russia sanctions bill, crowded the Clarity Act off the agenda before recess, according to Politico.

September window narrows as midterms approach

With the vote now pushed to September, the bill faces a narrower window than before. Both chambers return for only a few weeks that month, and floor time will compete with appropriations bills and the approach of November's midterm elections, conditions that policy analysts said could cause the bill's prospects to deteriorate the longer it drags on. In the meantime, the digital asset industry continues to operate under existing regulatory guidance issued directly by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, rather than the clearer statutory framework the Clarity Act is intended to provide — a gap firms have cited as a constraint on custody arrangements and product planning throughout 2026.

The delay prolongs regulatory uncertainty for tokens most sensitive to US market structure legislation, with XRP's weekly decline underscoring how closely prices track legislative headlines. Bitcoin, by contrast, held above $64,000 on Friday, with the 50-day exponential moving average at $64,637 capping gains and the 100-day EMA at $66,977 and 200-day EMA at $72,419 marking the next resistance levels, according to FXStreet technical analysis. On the downside, the July 6 low at $61,307 and the recent swing low at $57,800 serve as two key support levels.

Whether Democrats and Republicans can reach agreement on the ethics provision and yield payments will determine the bill's path forward when the Senate reconvenes in September, with the outcome likely to shape how US exchanges and issuers structure stablecoin and yield-bearing products.

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