Organizations representing US law enforcement officials have proposed amendments to a comprehensive cryptocurrency market structure bill currently under consideration in the Senate, according to a Tuesday Politico report. The push comes with only days remaining before the chamber breaks for a month-long recess.

The National Association of Assistant US Attorneys and the National District Attorneys Association sent a letter to the White House requesting changes to provisions concerning developers in the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act. Specifically, the groups asked that guidelines within the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) — a component of the broader CLARITY Act — ensure that rules for developers do not "create, expand, or modify criminal liability under Federal law." The BRCA is intended to establish that software developers who do not hold or control user funds should not be treated as money transmitters or regulated financial institutions, a protection the law enforcement groups argue could limit their ability to pursue illicit finance and sanctions evasion cases.

White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt responded to reports of the proposed changes, stating that the provisions were "not even close" to the Trump administration's position. In a post on X, Witt implied the changes did not result from "productive negotiations."

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto has reportedly been pressing the White House to address the BRCA before any potential floor vote.

The proposed amendments arrive as the CLARITY Act faces significant pushback from many Democrats over ethics provisions tied to US President Donald Trump's crypto investments, which reportedly netted him $1.4 billion in 2025.

As of Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune had not scheduled a vote on the legislation before the chamber's state work periods. Thune told reporters last week that the Senate was unlikely to vote on the bill before the August recess.

The Senate is scheduled to hold state work periods from August 7 to September 14, leaving lawmakers a narrow window to pass the crypto market structure bill before complications arising from the November 2026 midterm elections.

Anne Kelley, a partner at consulting firm Mercury Strategies, outlined the procedural hurdles on X: "Even if CLARITY were brought up today, the procedural steps — cloture → amendment process → second cloture → up to 30 hours of debate — make finishing before recess extremely difficult without [unanimous consent] agreement to waive process, which is rare on contested bills."

Senator Ron Wyden has separately urged Senate leaders to preserve developer protections in the bill.

CLARITY Could Shift Crypto Authority to CFTC

A central element of the crypto market structure bill would shift primary regulatory purview over digital assets from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which currently possesses fewer tools and resources for enforcement and oversight. The question of which agency should hold primary jurisdiction over digital assets has been debated for years without congressional resolution, leaving market participants to navigate overlapping enforcement regimes and conflicting interpretations of existing securities and commodities law. Both agencies remain understaffed at the leadership level, with only one CFTC chair and three SEC commissioners currently in place.

Further reading: Here's why the CLARITY Act's ethics deal may be so hard to reach