Seven Democratic senators issued a joint statement Tuesday afternoon opposing the current text of the CLARITY Act, the Senate’s cryptocurrency market structure bill, telling Republicans that the draft does not meet key provisions including “ethics of elected officials, consumer protection, illicit finance, conflicts of interest, and market integrity.”
the The statement was signed By Senators Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Mark Warner of Virginia, and Raphael Warnock of Georgia.
Republicans released a revised draft on the same day that includes an ethics provision that would expire in 2029, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, updated stablecoin provisions, and enforcement measures.
Disagreements over ethics are not new. Democrats had already expressed doubts about potential conflicts of interest a year ago during Senate negotiations on the GENIUS stablecoin bill.
Key pro-crypto Democrats reject current CLARITY draft
Gallego and Albrooks were the only Democrats to vote to advance the CLARITY Act out of the Senate Banking Committee in a 15-9 vote on May 14, 2026. Their signing of today’s statement means that the pro-crypto center of the Senate Democratic Caucus has moved to general opposition to the current text.
Without Gallego and Albrooks, Republicans will need to find eight Democratic votes elsewhere to reach the 60-vote threshold. This has already been a difficult road with Senators Chris Murphy, Chris Van Hollen, and Jeff Merkley leading the ethics-focused opposition. It was now more difficult since Albrooks, Booker, Cortez Masto, Gallego, Hickenlooper, Warner, and Warnock had all decided to curb their support.
As Cryptopolitan reported earlierSenator Gallego had already called Trump’s July 20 ethics language “very weak” within hours of it being distributed to Senate Republicans. The ethics issue is directly related to Trump’s exposure to cryptocurrencies. He has reported about $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency-related income, including $636 million tied to his memecoin, and Democrats say the current version of the CLARITY Act doesn’t do enough to address such conflicts.
Giancarlo says agencies can implement cryptocurrency policy without Congress
Nearly 30 minutes before the Seven Democrats dropped their statement, former CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo said Eleanor Terrett at the Tie Out East Summit He sees a greater than 50% chance that the Clarity Act will not be passed and added: “That’s OK.”
🚨New: Previous @Koftak president @GiancarloMKTS He told me he thinks there’s more than a 50% chance the Clarity Act won’t pass and “that’s fine.” He says innovation will continue under the regulatory frameworks established at the SEC and CFTC, and that the hostile future… pic.twitter.com/mww0WAyZJL
– Eleanor Terret (@EleanorTerrett) July 22, 2026
Giancarlo, the former head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the Trump administration and nicknamed “CryptoDad,” believes the sector can continue to advance through the regulatory frameworks being put in place at the SEC and CFTC, regardless of Congress’ failure to pass the CLARITY Act.
He also argued that a future anti-crypto administration will struggle to reverse the progress over the next two years. Giancarlo’s comments are important because they show how some pro-crypto Republicans are already thinking of a backup plan if the Senate doesn’t act.
As it stands, the SEC/CFTC Interpretive Guidance issued on March 17, 2026, remains the primary framework of the law at the federal level. The crypto regulation is being drafted by Paul Atkins, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and will be implemented in July 2026. Michael Selig, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has used his emergency authority in the Michigan trade cancellation case.
Loomis supports the language of morality with the Democratic Revolution
Trump agreed to update the ethics language on July 20, and Republicans distributed the text to Senate GOP senators the same day. Senator Cynthia Lummis He publicly endorsed the agreement on Wednesday, X day He urged Congress to pass the CLARITY Act without further delay, saying it prohibits all federal officials, including the president, from issuing or custodial digital assets for profit.
It’s time to pass the Clarity Act 🇺🇲
After years of bipartisan work, the United States is closer than ever to establishing clear rules for the digital asset industry.
Regulatory clarity fosters innovation, protects consumers, and helps solidify America’s position as the cryptocurrency capital of the world. pic.twitter.com/bU4IeCpbPC
– Chainlink (@chainlink) July 22, 2026
Democratic criticism targets the same requirement from the opposite angle: The ethics rule expires in 2029, enforcement authority rests with the Justice Department rather than state attorneys general, and both design choices make the restriction temporary and, in the Democratic framework, impermanent. Albrooks had already called the Justice Department’s enforcement-only version a “non-serious offer” in previous negotiations.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office said Wednesday that Thune still plans to move forward with the bill in the coming days despite the opposition.
The August holiday is about two weeks away. If the Senate doesn’t approve the bill before then, it will likely drag on until 2027, when midterm politics could make reaching a bipartisan cryptocurrency deal more difficult.
In the meantime, Polymarket is holding on The CLARITY Act will be signed into law in 2026 Shares settled at 39% on Wednesday on cumulative volume of $2.3 million, retreating from a February peak of more than 75% and continuing to decline from a mid-May reading of nearly 60%.
