Foreign media report that, after the U.S. Senate concludes its summer recess, only 14 working days remain to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Under the current schedule, the Senate will hold a procedural cloture vote on September 15, requiring 60 votes to proceed to formal debate and subsequent amendments.
The 60-vote threshold is the biggest obstacle
The report notes that Republicans currently hold 53 seats in the Senate, but the party is not unified. Hawley and Paul are seen as potential opponents, and Tillis, who participated in drafting the bill, has signaled reservations. This means Republican leadership may need to secure at least 10 Democratic senators to defect—a significantly greater challenge than at the committee stage.
In May, when the Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill by a 15-to-9 vote, only two Democratic senators supported it. In comparison, the current publicly visible vote gap remains substantial if the 60-vote threshold is to be crossed.
- The vote on September 15 was a procedural vote, not a final decision.
- If the program vote fails, the bill will essentially lose momentum by 2026.
- As the midterm elections approach, senators are typically reluctant to vote on controversial bills.
Three disputes remain unresolved.
The article identifies three core issues currently hindering the progress of the bill. First is the ethics provision—whether sitting officials should be restricted from holding or operating cryptocurrency-related businesses. The controversy stems from Trump’s disclosure of over $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency-related income in 2025, primarily from World Liberty Financial and the TRUMP meme coin project. Democrats have used this as grounds to demand stronger conflict-of-interest constraints.
The second point of contention is Section 604 of the bill. This provision aims to protect developers of non-custodial, open-source DeFi protocols from automatically incurring registration obligations similar to those of money transmission businesses due to third-party use of their code. The crypto industry views this provision as critical, but law enforcement agencies oppose it.
The third point of contention involves the stablecoin yield arrangement. The report notes that this provision could impact Coinbase’s reward income related to USDC, making it a sensitive issue in industry lobbying and legislative negotiations.
The Democratic Party's stance remains cautious.
Seven Democratic senators previously issued a joint statement saying that the current text remains "inadequate" in terms of ethical safeguards, consumer protection, prevention of illicit finance, and market integrity. This statement did not directly reject the bill, but also did not offer clear support.
The article states that Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott had publicly predicted that ultimately 12 to 18 Democratic lawmakers would vote in favor. However, by the end of the August recess, no new public agreement had emerged on the three points of contention, and the bill text showed no significant changes.
If the bill stalls, regulation will still advance incrementally.
Foreign media believe that if this bill fails to clear procedural hurdles, the U.S. crypto industry will continue to face an enforcement-driven regulatory environment in the short term, and comprehensive legislation may be delayed until at least 2029. At that point, market participants will still need to navigate rules advanced separately by the SEC, the CFTC, and other agencies.
The report also noted that market expectations for the bill's passage have significantly cooled. The probability of passage by 2026 on Polymarket dropped from 82% in February to approximately 16% by the end of August, and Galaxy Digital also lowered its own forecast to 10%. The article concludes that the procedural vote in mid-September will be a critical milestone for whether U.S. cryptocurrency legislation can move forward.