Senate Republicans release revised 630-page CLARITY Act text days before cloture vote

What happened

Senate Republicans released a revised version of the CLARITY Act five days before a scheduled procedural vote, according to crypto.news, which reported the draft runs 630 pages and adds federal oversight for certain crypto trading protocols. The Block, in reporting the same development, described the release as a revised version of landmark cryptocurrency legislation circulated ahead of a pivotal initial vote next week.

CryptoSlate identified the document as EHF26718, proposed substitute text labeled an "amendment in the nature of a substitute intended to be proposed," and reported that the Sept. 15 vote is a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633, scheduled to ripen at 2:15 p.m. according to the Senate floor schedule. Both CryptoSlate and crypto.news report that 60 votes are needed, that success would open debate and an amendment process, and that Republicans hold 53 seats.

The substantive change, per crypto.news, is a new category called a "non-decentralized finance trading protocol," applied to people or coordinated groups with direct or indirect authority to control or materially change a protocol's functions, operations or consensus rules. Protocols meeting the definition would have to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, with the CFTC and the Treasury Department directed to write implementing rules, crypto.news reported. CryptoSlate reported that the revision expands Section 20209 from the July draft's "Software developer protections" to "Software developer protections and non-decentralized finance trading protocols," giving the CFTC an assignment corresponding to one Section 10301 already gave the Securities and Exchange Commission on the same term. The operative distinction, CryptoSlate wrote, is control: calling a venue decentralized would not necessarily prevent intermediary obligations from attaching when an identifiable person or group administers it.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis said on Sept. 10 that Republicans had incorporated more than 114 provisions requested by Democratic senators, according to crypto.news, which added that the Wyoming Republican described the new version as a bipartisan product even though no Democratic senator had publicly endorsed the revised text at release.

The numbers

The draft is 630 pages, per crypto.news. Sixty votes are required to end debate on a legislative motion, which CryptoSlate described as 60% of the full Senate when there are no vacancies; with 53 Republicans, CryptoSlate calculated that perfect party unity still leaves at least seven votes to find elsewhere.

Crypto.news reported that the retained ethics provision restricts public officials, government employees and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets, leaves enforcement primarily with the Justice Department, and expires in January 2029. CryptoPotato, in its standfirst, put the count of Democratic "wins" now in the bill at more than 115 while reporting that ethics rules remain unchanged.

On the lobbying side, crypto.news reported that Stand With Crypto, an advocacy organization backed by Coinbase, said its supporters contacted members of Congress nearly 50,000 times during August, and that Reuters reported the Independent Community Bankers of America had arranged meetings between local bankers and senators during the August recess. CryptoSlate reported that 12 Democratic senators warned in July that broad DeFi exemptions could shelter blockchain prediction markets from derivatives rules, and that the National Sheriffs' Association moved from opposition to a neutral position on Sept. 3 after changes addressing illicit-finance concerns.

Context

Crypto.news reported that the bill would create federal classifications for digital assets and divide oversight, with the CFTC taking spot markets for assets classified as digital commodities and the SEC retaining jurisdiction over securities, and that the House previously passed its version with support from members of both parties. Unresolved fights, per CryptoSlate, include presidential crypto ethics, stablecoin rewards, prediction markets and Tribal concerns. Crypto.news reported that banks contend rewards paid on stablecoin balances could pull money from insured accounts, while crypto companies argue transaction-based incentives differ from interest on deposits; CryptoSlate reported that the sponsors' section-by-section summary says permitted rewards may be tied to activities such as opening an account, making payments and providing liquidity.

White House digital assets adviser Patrick Witt reduced the Senate's immediate choice to "get on the bill and let's keep talking," CryptoSlate reported. The same outlet reported that Semafor quoted Sen. Thom Tillis saying the bill could fail unless the White House helps bridge the ethics standoff, and that Sen. Mike Rounds expressed pessimism. Crypto.news separately reported, citing Reuters, that Sens. James Lankford and Mike Rounds have questioned whether the bill could allow certain digital tokens to compete with traditional deposits.

Disputed or unconfirmed

The count of Democratic-requested provisions differs between outlets: crypto.news reported Lummis citing more than 114, while CryptoPotato's standfirst says more than 115. Lummis's characterization of the text as bipartisan is her own; crypto.news reported no Democratic endorsement at release, and cited Politico for the statements that no Democratic support had been secured at publication time and that the Sept. 10 revision did not adopt major elements of a separate ethics proposal developed by Democratic senators and Sen. Tillis. CryptoSlate noted that as of Sept. 10 none of the July letter's signers had publicly attributed a change in position to EHF26718, and that the Tillis and Rounds comments signal danger rather than a verified whip count. Crypto.news also reported that public summaries available Thursday did not identify every provision changed in the full draft.

Decrypt covered the same release under the same headline; its article text is not available beyond that.