A Senate panel's Thursday vote to approve the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act marked the first time a broad legislative framework for the cryptocurrency industry had cleared a congressional committee, according to CNBC. The tally was 15-9, with the vote splitting mostly along party lines — Ruben Gallego of Arizona was the only Democrat to cross over and support the measure.
Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., framed the vote as a necessary step toward giving the crypto industry the guidance it has long lacked. During the hearing, he quoted directly from prepared remarks: "For years, the digital frontier was trapped in a regulatory gray zone. Developers, entrepreneurs and investors were left with uncertainty. They faced confusion and enforcement actions, when instead, the government should have been crafting clear rules of the road."
The bill now faces a difficult path. Passage into law would require surviving a full Senate floor vote — one that demands at least seven Democratic supporters — followed by House approval before anything could be sent to President Donald Trump, according to CNBC. Several Democratic senators, including Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, said they intend to keep working on the legislation but withheld their votes. "I guess I'm right now in crypto purgatory, but I'm looking forward to getting all the way there," Warner said during the hearing.
When Democratic members put forward amendments intended to shore up areas of concern, none made it through — Scott rejected some on procedural grounds, saying they had not been drafted properly, while others were simply defeated by vote. Key sticking points include provisions governing how political officials can profit from digital assets and whether the bill does enough to block illicit financial transactions.
Among those backing the bill are crypto firms Coinbase, Circle, and Ripple, along with Andreessen Horowitz, the prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm. The White House has also backed the bill, according to CNBC.
Opposition has come from banking, law enforcement, and labor groups. Traditional banks have objected to provisions they say would permit crypto firms to pay stablecoin holders rewards akin to interest, a practice they warn would pull deposits away from banks and leave less money available for lending. Groups representing law enforcement have argued the bill falls short on provisions needed to detect and disrupt the use of digital assets for criminal purposes. The AFL-CIO raised alarms that bringing crypto into the regulatory mainstream risks destabilizing broader financial markets, with workers' retirement savings potentially caught in the fallout.
The bill addresses a long-contested question in the crypto industry: whether digital tokens are classified as securities, commodities, or something else for regulatory purposes. An earlier attempt to move the legislation forward fell apart in January when objections from both the banking sector and crypto firms derailed a scheduled vote. The House approved its own version of the bill last year, meaning any Senate-passed version would need to be reconciled before reaching the president. Crypto advocates are pushing for passage before the November midterm elections, when a shift in House control could jeopardize the bill's prospects.