Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said the current U.S. regulatory framework for digital assets “is not working” for the industry, consumers or law enforcement, pressing the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act before its August recess.
Key Takeaways
Lummis said U.S. crypto rules are “not working,” urging a Senate vote on CLARITY before August 8.Prediction markets put 2026 passage odds near 30%, down sharply from over 80% in February.The Senate needs 60 votes; Republicans hold 53, requiring at least seven Democrats to cross over.She has also cast the standoff in more concrete terms, telling colleagues that a prolonged pushback could leave crypto custody rules exposed just as the industry scales further into mainstream finance.
The Clock Is Running outThe Senate is set to begin its August recess on August 8, and Majority Leader John Thune has not yet allocated floor time for the bill. If lawmakers fail to act before then, debate would not resume until September, cutting further into the shrinking legislative window before the midterm elections.
That said, with floor time still unscheduled and the recess deadline days away, the bill’s fate now rests on whether Thune carves out time this week or lets it slide into the fall session. A September restart would keep CLARITY alive but push any final vote closer to the midterm campaign season, when legislative bandwidth typically shrinks further.
