The CLARITY Act Senate vote is now racing against the August recess clock, with Trump convening Republican senators at the White House and Ripple warning that a failed bill would leave the same regulatory gaps that enabled the FTX collapse wide open.
What the CLARITY Act Actually Does
H.R. 3633 is a 616-page piece of legislation. According to the Congressional Research Service, it hands the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversight of most crypto tokens while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) retains authority over tokens that function more like securities.
The bill also bundles in anti-money laundering rules, consumer protections, and provisions governing crypto company bankruptcies. One provision that has received less attention: per the CRS cryptocurrency policy report, the bill would ban the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), a digital dollar.
The DeFi carve-out is also notable for builders. Activities such as compiling and validating transactions, providing computational work, and developing or maintaining a blockchain system or decentralised finance trading protocol would not be subject to the bill’s provisions.
Senate Vote Window Is Closing
According to Politico, Trump is scheduled to meet several Republican senators to discuss the remaining work needed to secure a floor vote. Senator Bernie Moreno confirmed the meeting: ‘We’ll be talking about the entirety of the bill. I mean, obviously the president’s been very engaged in this bill. He’s the one who’s really driven the innovation that I think will pay dividends.’
Senator Cynthia Lummis, a leading sponsor of crypto legislation, is also expected to attend. Senator Thom Tillis said he hoped an agreement on the ethics provisions could be reached within days: ‘I’m hoping that we can come up with some agreement by the end of this week.’
Multiple Republican lawmakers view the current work period as their best window before campaigning for the midterm elections consumes the Senate’s schedule. Prediction markets are pricing in doubt: Polymarket traders place the probability of the CLARITY Act becoming law in 2026 at about 41%, with the ethics dispute and shrinking legislative calendar weighing on the odds.
Opposition is entrenched on the other side of the aisle. A group of Democratic senators has stated that provisions covering ethics, consumer protection, illicit finance, conflicts of interest, and market integrity all need further work, though they signalled continued willingness to negotiate. House minority Democrats have gone further, labelling the bill the ‘CALAMITY Act’ in the House minority committee report, arguing it would legitimise crypto scams, create new loopholes for crypto companies, and impede oversight related to national security and conflicts of interest.
Ripple’s Case for Passing an Imperfect Bill
Ripple’s chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty has been the most vocal industry voice pushing for passage. He argued the bill is fundamentally a consumer protection measure, one that would strengthen anti-money laundering and know-your-customer requirements while giving law enforcement and state authorities clearer tools to act against misconduct.
Alderoty pointed directly to FTX, where customers lost access to billions of dollars held on the exchange. ‘We’ve seen this movie. Let’s not watch the sequel,’ he wrote. Ripple’s global co-head of public policy Lauren Belive echoed the point: ‘The same regulatory gaps that let bad actors like FTX collapse and wipe out customer funds are still wide open today.’
Alderoty also framed the stakes in terms of retail exposure: passage is expected to clear regulatory overhangs for an industry with 67 million U.S. crypto holders, according to U.Today.
CEO Brad Garlinghouse backed Alderoty’s position publicly, writing on 22 July 2026: ‘Perfect can’t be the enemy of good. Let’s get this done!’ The dual message from Ripple’s C-suite, per crypto.news, is that waiting for a cleaner bill is not a neutral option: it is a choice to leave the current framework intact.
On the legislative calendar, the House Financial Services Committee has a hearing scheduled for 17 July titled ‘Building the Future of Finance: How the CLARITY Act Unlocks Innovation.’ Witnesses are expected to address both the bill itself and the proposed Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Whether that hearing produces momentum in the Senate, or simply confirms how much ground remains to cover before the recess, is the question that matters this week.
