US Senate committee vote for the CLARITY Act is scheduled for 5/14! If passed, the consolidated version will be sent to the floor for a vote.

Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett revealed that the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs has officially scheduled a markup and vote on the CLARITY Act for Thursday, May 14, at 10:30 AM ET, with the draft text already circulating among select industry insiders. If passed by the committee, the bill will be merged with the version already cleared by the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry in January and sent to the full Senate for a vote. (Previous coverage: U.S. Bipartisan Compromise on Stablecoin Yields in CLARITY Act! Banking Industry Warns of "Deposit Flight," Coinbase Rises 6%, Circle Soars 20%) (Background: 28-Day Countdown for CLARITY Act! If Not Passed by End of May, No Hope This Year; Polymarket Odds of Passage Drop to 38%) In January, the Committee on Agriculture cleared the first hurdle with a 12:11 party-line vote. From the stablecoin yield compromise in early May to Circle surging 26% in two days, it has taken over four months for the CLARITY Act to reach the Banking Committee’s markup stage. According to Eleanor Terrett, the Banking Committee has distributed the draft text to certain industry stakeholders, though it remains in the finalization process and is expected to incorporate priorities from Democratic offices. Committee members will vote on the full text of the bill and all proposed amendments at that time. Once passed, the two committee versions will be merged. The legislative framework of the CLARITY Act is divided into two parallel tracks: the Senate Committee on Agriculture is responsible for the "Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act," which defines the CFTC's jurisdiction over decentralized assets; the Banking Committee is responsible for the SEC's regulatory scope and stablecoin provisions. The Committee on Agriculture passed its version on January 29 with a 12:11 party-line vote, marking the first cryptocurrency market structure bill in U.S. history to clear a Senate committee. If the Banking Committee also passes its version on May 14, the two texts will be merged into the full CLARITY Act and subsequently submitted to the full Senate for a vote. The Agriculture Committee's version has been sitting for three and a half months; the longer the Banking Committee delays, the greater the gap in provisions that will need to be reconciled during the merger. Scheduling the markup at least provides a deadline. Stablecoin Yield "Bipartisan Compromise" The key turning point accelerating the markup was the stablecoin yield compromise reached by Senators Thom Tillis (R) and Angela Alsobrooks (D) on May 2: prohibiting issuers from paying yields equivalent to bank deposit interest rates, while preserving loyalty programs, transaction rebates, and subscription rewards under a "good faith activities" framework. Following the news of the compromise, Circle (CRCL) surged 26% in two days, Coinbase rose over 6%, and crypto-related stocks rallied across the board. However, disagreements have not fully disappeared. Senator Gillibrand publicly called at Consensus in Miami for the bill to include ethical provisions prohibiting current high-ranking officials from profiting from the crypto industry while regulating it. Large banks are also dissatisfied with the wording of the yield provisions; large banks with consumer-facing businesses strongly oppose them, while institutions without consumer-facing businesses are relatively more accepting. Senator Lummis stated on May 6 that the CLARITY Act is the "sole priority." The probability of the bill being signed into law this year on Polymarket is currently hovering around 70%; if the review is not completed by the end of May, this figure is likely to see a rapid correction.