- SEC Chair Paul Atkins urged Congress to advance the CLARITY Act, saying the SEC’s crypto agenda will continue regardless of the bill’s outcome.
- The Senate is set to hold a procedural cloture vote, rather than a final vote, with Republicans needing Democratic support to advance the bill.
- The bill has been amended to address some Democratic concerns, including ethics rules around politicians and crypto.
- Attorneys general from 17 states and D.C. are urging senators to reject the bill unless it explicitly protects states’ authority to police crypto fraud and oversee markets.
Paul Atkins, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has renewed his support for the crypto market structure bill known as the CLARITY Act. During a speech at the Solana Policy Institute in Washington on Monday, he urged Congress to advance the bill and “send it to the president’s desk as soon as possible”, but also added that the SEC’s crypto agenda will move forward regardless of the outcome.
Let me be […] clear: with or without that legislation, this administration will deliver for American investors and technological innovators.
Paul Atkins, SEC chair The vote is scheduled for 2:15 PM US Eastern Time (4:15 AM Australian Eastern Time on Wednesday). This is not the final vote, but rather a procedural Senate vote called a cloture vote. A ‘yes’ vote would move the bill forward to full Senate consideration, while a failure could leave the bill stuck in limbo for a very long time.
Republicans need Democratic support to pass the bill, which has already been amended to accommodate some of the Democrats’ concerns, especially around ethics and politicians issuing their own cryptocurrencies.
President Donald Trump has been criticised for profiting from crypto and has recently agreed to provisions in the bill strengthening ethics rules.
Read more: Crypto Billionaires Pour £72 Million Into Farage’s Reform UK
AGs Object to Bill in Letter to Committee
However, a group of state attorneys general has just sent a letter to Senate Banking Committee leaders urging senators to vote no on the bill.
The coalition of attorneys general from 17 states plus D.C., led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, is asking Senate leaders to amend the CLARITY Act so it doesn’t undercut states’ authority to police crypto fraud and license securities market participants.
As the epidemic of online scams continues to grow, we remain firmly opposed to any federal statutory changes that would displace states’ authority to oversee the securities and commodities markets to protect everyday Americans.
Multi-State Coalition of AGs
They argue that state enforcement has been crucial in tackling a fast-growing wave of crypto scams, and that the bill’s ambiguous language and a new SEC preemption loophole could strip states of tools to protect investors. They’re urging the Senate to reject the bill in its current form unless states’ powers are explicitly preserved.
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