Rumors of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act's demise have been greatly exaggerated. The crypto industry isn't out of the woods yet, however, for reasons we'll get into.

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New draft incoming

The narrative

Multiple individuals familiar with the Clarity Act discussions told CoinDesk last Thursday that lawmakers intend to unveil an updated version of the crypto market structure bill this week. The new text combines the bills previously passed out of committee by the Senate Banking and Agriculture panels, and is the result of those respective bodies negotiating over various provisions.

Why it matters

As this newsletter and CoinDesk's Jesse Hamilton have both pointed out repeatedly, time is running short for the Clarity Act to wind its way through Congress and to the president's desk for a signature in 2026. A new draft being released could indicate progress, but if the key areas of disagreement haven't been resolved, it won't be as much progress as the industry hopes for.

Breaking it down

Last week, CoinDesk reported that individuals familiar with the Clarity Act negotiations expect a new draft of the bill to circulate this week. The updated bill text will combine the different versions from the Banking and Agriculture Committees and include some 70 additional pages, sources told CoinDesk. What it will not include, as of press time, is an ethics provision or agreements on some of the remaining contentious issues in the Clarity Act, meaning it's not yet ready for a vote.

The rest of this newsletter is going to be conjecture and speculation. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Punchbowl News last month he was willing to put the bill up for a floor vote in July. Rumors suggest the bill may go to the Senate floor during the week of July 20 or July 27.

If a vote is announced, there will likely be a full-court press to try and make sure it has at least 60 votes in the Senate, meaning at least seven Democrats will need to be willing to support the bill — more, if any Republicans vote against it or are unable to make it to the vote.

Expect organizations like Stand With Crypto to say they'll score the vote, and the industry to make note of the hundreds of millions of dollars the crypto political action committees have on hand.