Senate Republicans Post Revised CLARITY Act Text Five Days Before Cloture Vote

Sen. Cynthia Lummis posted a revised version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Sept. 10, five days before the Senate is scheduled to vote on cloture to take up the bill. The amendment narrows the DeFi provisions to spot and cash digital commodity transactions, imposes CFTC registration and Bank Secrecy Act requirements on non‑decentralized trading protocols, and clarifies credit unions' permitted digital-asset activities, but key Senate Democrats have not withdrawn their earlier objections.

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Senate Republicans Post Revised CLARITY Act Text Five Days Before Cloture Vote

Why It Matters

The changes reshape which digital‑asset platforms fall under federal oversight and arrive days before a cloture vote that needs 60 senators to proceed — meaning limited Democratic support could determine whether the bill reaches debate. The outcome will also dictate whether the Senate can amend ethics, illicit‑finance and consumer‑protection provisions before any final agreement with the House.

Key Facts

Revised text released: Sept. 10 by Senator Cynthia Lummis
Cloture vote (motion to proceed): Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 2:15 p.m.; needs 60 votes
Senate party split cited: Republicans 53; Democrats 45 and two independents who caucus with them (per Senate tally)
Three principal changes: CFTC registration and Bank Secrecy Act obligations for non-decentralized trading protocols; DeFi title limited to spot and cash digital commodity transactions; clarification of credit unions' digital-asset activities
Bill vehicle: Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 3633 (House-passed bill)

Senator Cynthia Lummis released an updated substitute text for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Sept. 10, five days before the Senate is set to vote on cloture to take up the measure. The revised draft arrives without public endorsement from the seven Senate Democrats who negotiated with Republicans over the past year and later issued a statement opposing the July version.

Lummis listed three narrow revisions in the Sept. 10 substitute: trading protocols that are not decentralized would have to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and comply with Bank Secrecy Act obligations; the bill’s decentralized finance (DeFi) title would apply only to spot and cash transactions in digital commodities; and the text would clarify which digital-asset activities credit unions may undertake. The amendment is posted on Lummis's website as a substitute to H.R. 3633 and is organized into four divisions, including ten Banking Committee titles, Agriculture Committee digital-intermediary provisions, an ethics division and an effective-date section.

The release lists several financial firms and law-enforcement organizations as supporters, naming BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab and SoFi along with the National Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs' Association, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Major County Sheriffs of America. However, the National Sheriffs' Association previously sent a July 31 letter urging senators not to vote on the bill as written, citing law-enforcement and public-safety risks tied to DeFi exemptions from anti-money‑laundering and sanctions rules; the Major County Sheriffs' Association has also previously flagged concerns. Neither group has posted a statement on the Sept. 10 text.

The Sept. 15 cloture vote will determine whether the Senate takes up the measure; advancing requires 60 votes, so if all Republicans back proceeding, seven Democrats would be needed to reach that threshold. Seven Democrats who issued a joint objection to the July text — Senators Mark Warner, Angela Alsobrooks, Cory Booker, Catherine Cortez Masto, Ruben Gallego, John Hickenlooper and Raphael Warnock — have not posted any new support for the September version. Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren remains opposed to the bill. Prediction markets put the odds of the CLARITY Act becoming law in 2026 at about 18% and show varying probabilities for which senators might support it. Whatever the Senate ultimately passes would return to the House because the substitute replaces the House-passed H.R. 3633, which passed 294-134 in July.