Key Points
- Senator Bill Hagerty anticipates the CLARITY Act will advance to Senate Banking Committee proceedings in April
- The legislation proposes transferring primary crypto regulation authority from the SEC to the CFTC
- Negotiations over stablecoin yield provisions show signs of breakthrough after months of gridlock
- Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott has yet to announce a formal markup schedule
- Prediction markets on Polymarket currently show 63% probability of presidential approval in 2025
During remarks Monday at Vanderbilt University’s Digital Assets and Emerging Tech Policy Summit, Senator Bill Hagerty expressed optimism that the CLARITY Act would advance through the Senate Banking Committee over the coming weeks, establishing April as a critical month for the landmark cryptocurrency legislation.
Hagerty acknowledged the complexity of the task ahead while maintaining that negotiations are progressing positively.
“There’s still a lot more work to do,” Hagerty said, but added that none of the outstanding issues were “insurmountable.”
The CLARITY Act secured House passage in July under its current designation. Senate progress has been hindered by contentious debates surrounding stablecoin yield mechanisms, governance standards, and criticism from segments of the digital asset community.
The proposed framework would fundamentally restructure cryptocurrency oversight by transferring substantial regulatory authority from the Securities and Exchange Commission to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Due to the jurisdictional scope spanning both agencies, the legislation requires endorsement from the Senate Agriculture Committee alongside the Senate Banking Committee.
The Agriculture Committee completed its review and advanced its portion of the bill in January. The Banking Committee markup represents the remaining hurdle before the legislation can proceed to a full Senate floor vote.
Breakthrough Emerging on Stablecoin Yield Framework
The treatment of stablecoin rewards has emerged as the primary obstacle to passage. Major cryptocurrency platforms, particularly Coinbase, raised significant objections to initial draft language that would have implemented sweeping restrictions on stablecoin yield products.
Sources from both the cryptocurrency sector and traditional banking industry informed Crypto in America last week that revised stablecoin yield provisions have been circulated among stakeholders, generating measured optimism about reaching compromise. The specific language of the updated proposals remains confidential.
Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, expressed strong confidence in recent discussions with media representatives that negotiators were “close to a deal” on unresolved provisions.
Committee Schedule Remains Uncertain
Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott has not announced when the markup session will take place. The committee has similarly not indicated whether revised legislative text will be made available for public review prior to the markup.
Senator Cynthia Lummis, a prominent cryptocurrency advocate, has suggested the markup could materialize within April. However, John Deaton, a pro-XRP attorney and Senate candidate, cautioned that delays extending into summer would likely derail the bill as congressional attention pivots toward midterm election campaigns.
Hagerty acknowledged the political clock. “If we get this done in April, we can clearly get this taken care of before the midterms,” he said.
Cryptocurrency-focused political action committees are already positioning for the 2026 election cycle. Fairshake disclosed a $193 million treasury earmarked for November midterm races. The Fellowship PAC, which claims to have secured over $100 million from cryptocurrency-aligned donors, appointed Tether executive Jesse Spiro as chairman this week.
Polymarket currently puts the odds of Trump signing the CLARITY Act into law in 2025 at 63%, though those odds recently dipped as low as 50%.
