BlockBeats report: On May 14, according to crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, bipartisan Senate negotiations aimed at reaching a compromise on the two remaining outstanding issues of the CLARITY Act concluded that evening without an agreement. Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the Republican lead negotiators, issued a statement saying, “We ultimately agreed on 99% of the bill. I hope my bipartisan colleagues will work with me to resolve the remaining 1% after the bill passes committee. Otherwise, when—or if—another FTX-like event occurs, we can only blame ourselves.”
It is understood that Democrats, led by Senators Adam Schiff and Ruben Gallego, reached a compromise on ethics and conflict-of-interest issues involving the “First Family” (the President’s family) as a condition for supporting the bill. Other Democrats expressed last-minute concerns regarding provisions in the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), which aim to prevent non-custodial software developers from being prosecuted under money transmission laws. While meaningful progress was made on the ethics issues, final disagreements over BRCA amendments ultimately prevented an agreement from being reached.
It is still unclear how the five pro-crypto Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee will ultimately vote, but so far, the committee’s deliberations are expected to be partisan.