On Thursday, the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced legislation that would provide far-reaching regulation for the crypto industry, though the vote only passed with Republican support. The markup process represented a key hurdle for the legislation, known as the Clarity Act, which still needs to pass out of the Senate Banking Committee before it can be considered by the full chamber.
In Thursday’s hearing, Democratic senators on the committee lamented that their Republican counterparts had brought the bill to a vote without bipartisan support, with several members raising the need for a conflict of interest provision that would prevent politicians from profiting off of crypto holdings—a growing topic of concern due to President Trump’s expanding blockchain empire. In a statement shared with Fortune, the watchdog group Public Citizen referred to the Clarity Act as the “gryfto” bill, referencing Trump’s personal gains from the industry.
The bill, which would represent the most comprehensive financial reform in decades, faces uncertain odds in the broader Senate, as well as a difficult reconciliation process with the House of Representatives if it continues to move forward. Even so, its success in the Senate Agriculture Committee reflects the newfound sway the blockchain industry holds in Washington, D.C., where it is sitting on a campaign donation war chest of nearly $200 million to spend in the 2026 midterm elections.
A need for Clarity
President Trump, a key ally of the crypto industry, urged Congress to pass two bills after taking office last January. The first, a bill that created guardrails for dollar-backed cryptocurrencies, passed in July. The more ambitious Clarity Act, which would establish broader market structure rules for cryptocurrency issuance and trading, also passed in the House in July, though it is still awaiting full Senate support.
Clarity faced its first major hurdle in mid-January when a spat with the banking lobby over the treatment of yields earned off stablecoins caused Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong to pull his support for the draft. With the bill’s prospects in doubt, the Senate Banking Committee delayed its planned markup. The Senate Agriculture Committee, which has jurisdiction over aspects of the bill that deal with commodities, plowed ahead.
Though the Clarity Act has garnered bipartisan support, including in the Senate Agriculture Committee, the bill debated at Thursday’s hearing represented only the Republican version. Democrats voiced criticism over the bill’s treatment of decentralized finance, or DeFi, as well as ethics provisions that have long been a line in the sand.
“The White House has made this infinitely harder,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who has been leading the Democratic negotiations. “This is ridiculous that the President of the United States and his family have made billions of dollars off this industry and are still trying to create a framework here without the kind of ethics that would prevent this kind of gross corruption in our country that would undermine our nation’s democracy.”
An amendment that would create an ethics provision failed along party lines.
Despite the lack of bipartisan votes to advance the Clarity Act, Democrats made their desire clear to find common ground. The crypto industry continues to pour money into D.C., with the top-funded network of Super PACs, Fairshake, announcing on Wednesday that it has $193 million of cash on hand headed into the 2026 midterms, including nearly $75 million in new contributions from Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz.
Whether the fresh coffers are enough to push the Clarity Act over the finish line remains to be seen. The Senate Banking Committee has yet to reschedule its markup session, with Coinbase still at odds with the banking industry over the question of stablecoin yields, which represent a significant chunk of its revenue. The pro-crypto lawmakers, however, seemed undeterred.
“We are in a point in American history that is exciting,” said Booker on Thursday. “We are seeing an innovation explosion going on because of blockchain technology.”
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