U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged the Senate to advance the CLARITY Act ahead of a Sept. 15 cloture vote, framing the bill as a national security tool rather than just market regulation. The vote needs 60 votes, meaning at least seven Democrats must cross the aisle, while ethics and DeFi provisions remain unresolved.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pressed the Senate on Sept. 9 to move forward on the CLARITY Act, warning that failure would signal the U.S. is ceding digital-asset leadership to rivals. He posted the warning on X, urging senators to agree to the motion to proceed and stay at the negotiating table.
Bessent Frames the Bill as a Security Issue
According to CoinGape, Bessent said walking away would show the U.S. is "willing to forgo enhanced national security tools to combat their misuse". The post drew over 723,000 views and 16,400 likes within hours.
That framing marks a shift from his July comments, which pushed urgency on market structure and timing. Former Pentagon chief Mark Esper separately made a parallel national security case ahead of the same vote, signaling that defense and Treasury voices are now aligned on the argument.
What the Sept. 15 Vote Decides
The Sept. 15 vote is a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, not a vote on the bill itself. A yes vote unlocks floor debate, while a no vote kills the bill's current path.
Republicans hold 53 Senate seats, and cloture requires 60, so at least seven Democrats must cross the aisle. Republican senators have warned the bill may fail, with ethics language and DeFi provisions still unresolved. Sen. Cynthia Lummis amplified Bessent's post, calling on the Senate to pass a bill that protects consumers and keeps the industry based in America, and warned that failure would cede digital-asset rulemaking to Singapore and the UAE.
Ethics Language Remains the Sticking Point
The CLARITY Act passed the House 294-134 in July 2025, and the Senate Banking Committee advanced a version 15-9 in May 2026. Republicans released a new draft with an ethics provision that would ban officials from issuing or sponsoring crypto tokens, and Sen. Thom Tillis has said the bill fails without White House acceptance of that language.
The National Sheriffs' Association dropped its opposition and took a neutral stance, while Lummis has said the bill would allocate $150 million to track crypto scammers. Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty called on senators to hear from crypto holders before the vote. Bessent has separately moved on stablecoins, opening a public comment period on issuance rules to implement the GENIUS Act.
Prediction markets had priced 2026 enactment in the low teens heading into the week.
Source: CoinGape
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