Senate’s Crypto Crackdown: CLARITY Act Clears Committee in Shocking 15‑9 Vote!

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CLARITY Act clears Senate Banking Committee vote

On May 14th, the Senate Banking Committee approved the CLARITY Act with a vote of 15 to 9, moving it closer to a vote by the entire Senate.

Summary

  • The Senate Banking Committee voted 15-9 on May 14 to advance the CLARITY Act, with Democrat Ruben Gallego of Arizona joining all 13 Republicans.
  • Senator Elizabeth Warren called the bill “just not ready” and warned of weak anti-money laundering provisions and unresolved ethics language around officials who profit from crypto.
  • The bill now needs 60 votes to clear a Senate floor vote, and the House must reconcile any differences before it reaches President Trump’s desk.

The Senate Banking Committee approved the CLARITY Act today by a vote of 15 to 9, moving the bill closer to a full vote in the Senate. In a rare show of bipartisan support, Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego joined all 13 Republicans on the committee in voting yes. This marks the first time the bill has passed a committee with support from both parties since it was first proposed in May 2025.

As a crypto investor, I’m hearing that this new bill is designed to encourage innovation here in the US by modernizing some old regulations. Apparently, it also aims to give law enforcement the resources they need to crack down on illegal activity. Senator Lummis even said it was the most challenging piece of legislation she’s ever been involved with, which tells me it’s a pretty complex issue with a lot of moving parts.

As a researcher following the CLARITY Act, I saw it pass the House with strong support – 294 to 134 – back in July 2025. Unfortunately, it then got stuck in the Senate Banking Committee for almost ten months. The main issues holding things up were disagreements about how stablecoins should generate returns and which agency – the SEC or CFTC – should have oversight.

What the vote means and what Elizabeth Warren said 

Senator Warren opposed the bill and spearheaded the Democratic resistance during the hearing. She explained that the bill wasn’t prepared for passage, pointing to inadequate measures to prevent money laundering and unresolved ethical concerns about government officials potentially benefiting financially from cryptocurrency businesses.

She pointed to the case of Tornado Cash, which was penalized for laundering money linked to North Korea, as proof that the proposed bill doesn’t fully address existing weaknesses in regulation.

I was following the recent committee session closely, and Senator Warren put forward two changes. One would have prevented risky investments, like some crypto, from going into retirement accounts, and the other dealt with how sanctions are applied. Unfortunately, neither of those passed. Separately, Senator Rounds suggested creating ‘sandboxes’ – basically safe spaces – to test and regulate AI tools. That didn’t get approved either, as far as I know.

The bill passed by the committee now includes a provision requiring a fiduciary duty, which Senator John Kennedy added after announcing his support on Wednesday. His vote was the last needed from Republicans to ensure the bill’s passage.

The agreement reached by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks regarding stablecoin yields was key to securing a vote. This deal stops stablecoins from simply earning rewards for being held, but allows them to offer rewards based on how actively they’re used – for example, through transactions, trading, or platform engagement.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong changed his stance on May 1st, signaling support with a simple message on X (formerly Twitter): “Mark it up.” This reversed his opposition expressed in January.

What happens next and why the full Senate is harder

Now that the CLARITY Act has passed committee, it heads to the full Senate. To overcome a potential filibuster, it will need 60 votes. The committee vote was 15-9, with one Democrat joining the majority. Getting to 60 in the Senate will require at least seven more Democrats to support the bill, but many of those senators have already expressed concerns similar to those raised by Senator Warren regarding ethics and anti-money laundering rules.

Senators Lummis and Bernie Moreno cautioned that if the bill isn’t passed before the Memorial Day break on May 21st, it likely won’t be considered again until after the 2026 midterm elections.

Following the committee vote, predictions on Polymarket suggest a significantly increased chance of the CLARITY Act being passed into law by 2026. The White House is aiming for the President to sign it into law by July 4th.

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2026-05-14 20:49