U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent renewed his call for Congress to pass the CLARITY Act on Sept. 9, as the legislation’s next Senate test approached. He urged senators to remain at the negotiating table and support the motion to proceed when lawmakers return from the August recess.

Bessent’s intervention came as cryptocurrency groups increased their lobbying efforts ahead of the Senate’s scheduled Sept. 15 procedural vote. Prediction markets, however, remain skeptical that the bill will become law this year.

Stakeholders Rally Behind the CLARITY Act

Several industry stakeholders have echoed Bessent’s support as the Senate vote approaches. The legislation will require 60 votes to pass, and it remains unclear whether it has enough bipartisan backing.

The National Cryptocurrency Association recently placed an advertisement in The Wall Street Journal calling on lawmakers to meet with cryptocurrency holders before voting. The group said that one in four Americans owns cryptocurrency and that lawmakers should engage with them.

NCA President Stuart Alderoty, who is also Ripple’s general counsel, emphasized that cryptocurrency holders are located across the country. Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the bill’s core supporters, has also reiterated her support for passage.

Lummis said the United States has historically led efforts to establish rules for new technologies and argued that the CLARITY Act would allow the country to set rules for digital assets.

“We didn’t cede the internet to Europe, and we can’t afford to cede digital assets the same way. The Clarity Act allows the United States to write these rules instead of watching from the sidelines while Singapore or the UAE writes them for us,” she said.

Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen also said that permanent cryptocurrency regulations are essential for the industry. Taylor Barr, Chainlink’s head of policy, described the CLARITY Act as sensible and bipartisan legislation that had required considerable effort.

Polymarket Puts Passage Odds Below 20%

Despite the public support from Bessent and other stakeholders, prediction-market odds for the bill’s passage have declined. Polymarket currently gives the legislation a 16% chance of passing in 2026, while cryptocurrency bettors broadly put the probability of passage this year below 20%.

Andy C, founder of The Rollup podcast, said the bill’s actual chances were closer to 3% to 5% and claimed that people on Capitol Hill already expected it to fail. He said a dispute over the bill’s ethics provision remains unresolved and could prevent bipartisan support.

Andy C added that plans are already in place to introduce smaller, sector-specific cryptocurrency regulations if the CLARITY Act does not pass.

Primary-source links: Sen. Cynthia Lummis on X, a16z crypto on X, Taylor Barr on X, and Andy C on X.

Source: The Market Periodical