The Clarity Act passed the Senate Banking Committee with a vote of 15 to 9 on Thursday, and following the news, Bitcoin’s price surged above $82,000 – a level it hadn’t reached in weeks.
Summary
- The Senate Banking Committee advanced the Clarity Act in a bipartisan 15 to 9 vote, with two Democrats crossing the aisle to back the bill.
- Bitcoin climbed above $82,000 following the committee vote before pulling back to around $81,500, up roughly 2.5% on the day.
- Unresolved ethics provisions and a 60-vote Senate floor threshold remain as the bill moves toward a full Senate vote ahead of May 21 recess.
The Senate Banking Committee passed the Clarity Act on Thursday with a strong bipartisan vote of 15 to 9. This moves the bill – which would significantly reshape the rules for crypto markets in the US – one step closer to becoming law. Following the vote, Bitcoin’s price briefly rose above $82,000 before settling around $81,500, representing a daily increase of about 2.5%.
The bill received support from both parties in the committee, with two Democrats joining all 13 Republicans in voting yes. Committee Chairman Tim Scott had previously said getting all Republicans on board was a key challenge, especially since Senator John Kennedy had been hesitant to commit his support until recently.
According to Cody Carbone, leader of the Digital Chamber, the biggest hurdle to getting a vote on the crypto legislation is still the unresolved issue of whether lawmakers can trade cryptocurrency. He believes a deal on this point will be reached before the vote happens, as lawmakers will want to be sure they have enough support – at least 60 votes – before bringing it up for consideration.
What the Clarity Act does
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, passed by the House in July 2025 with a strong vote of 294 to 134, aims to clearly define which financial regulators oversee different types of digital assets. It would assign the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) responsibility for ‘digital commodities’ and leave ‘digital securities’ under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This clarification is expected to resolve years of confusion and encourage more investment from institutions in the US cryptocurrency market.
The bill has several steps left before it can become law. It needs 60 votes in the Senate, needs to be reconciled with a similar version from the Senate Agriculture Committee, and must match the version passed by the House of Representatives. The complete 309-page bill is available to view at congress.gov. Senators Lummis and Moreno have cautioned that if the bill isn’t passed before the Memorial Day recess on May 21st, it might not be considered again until 2030.
Patrick Witt, an advisor to the President, has signaled that the White House won’t agree to ethics rules that single out the President. This complicates efforts to move forward with a vote. Democratic senators are saying they’ll only support the measure if it includes ethics rules for all government officials, not just the President.
At the Consensus 2026 conference, Coinbase VP Kara Calvert emphasized that getting support from both Democrats and Republicans is crucial, and any bill needs at least 60 votes in the Senate to move forward. For Bitcoin, currently valued around $81,500, the committee’s vote is mainly a way to show that people have confidence in it.
This bill isn’t so much about whether Bitcoin is considered a commodity, but rather how a clear set of rules for digital assets in the US might affect how willing institutions are to invest in the overall market.
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2026-05-15 02:11