Zcash, Coinbase, Circle, Galaxy Back Senate Push For CLARITY Act Ahead Of Key White House Meeting This Week

Developer protections and ethics remain among the last hurdles before a Senate floor vote for the CLARITY Act, according to journalist Eleanor Terrett.

• More than 200 crypto firms are urging Senate leaders to schedule a floor vote on the CLARITY Act.
• Administration officials will reportedly meet with law enforcement groups at the White House on Wednesday to discuss concerns about illicit finance.
• The bill cleared the committee 15-9 but needed 60 votes; Galaxy cut its odds to 60%.

More than 200 crypto companies and organizations are pressing the Senate to bring the CLARITY Act to a floor vote, even as a reported White House meeting this week looms over one of the bill's last unresolved sticking points. 

The crypto lobby includes Coinbase (COIN), Galaxy (GLXY), Zcash (ZEC), Ripple (XRP), Kraken, Circle (CRCL), Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and Binance (BNB), among others, with the effort led by Stand With Crypto's Mason Lynaugh, the Blockchain Association's Summer Mersinger, the Crypto Council for Innovation's Ji Hun Kim, and the Digital Chamber's Cody Carbone.

Developer protections, the same provision now drawing White House scrutiny, have become a central bargaining chip in the negotiations, according to Journalist Eleanor Terrett. She said on Monday that, alongside ethics, this is one of the last hurdles lawmakers must clear before bringing the bill to the Senate floor. 

According to Terrett, several Democrats have warned they will not support the legislation unless law enforcement is satisfied its concerns have been adequately addressed. Additionally, the Defend Developers political action committee (PAC) launched last week to back lawmakers who support legal shields for open-source software builders.

The Illicit-Finance Hurdle

These developments come as administration officials are reportedly about to host law enforcement groups at the White House on Wednesday to address concerns that certain provisions of the CLARITY Act could make it harder to combat illicit finance.

According to Terrett, the meetings are part of ongoing efforts to resolve those concerns, which center on developer protections derived from the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act. The meetings follow a broader industry campaign to win over lawmakers and law enforcement, Terrett added, including a town hall and a Washington fly-in. 

The Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill 15 to 9 last month, with two Democrats crossing over, but it still needs 60 votes to clear the full Senate. Forecasters have turned cautious as the calendar tightens, with Galaxy Research recently cutting its estimate to 60%.

Senate Champions Weigh In

Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo) framed passage as a test of US leadership, saying she did not spend years on the issue to watch another country write the rules for "the assets Americans invented."

Additionally, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) called the CLARITY Act historic legislation that brings digital assets "out of the shadows" into a safer and more transparent system.

The Industry's Floor-Vote Push

The lawmakers' comments came after more than 200 crypto companies and organizations urged Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday to schedule a floor vote without delay, citing the bill's bipartisan committee passage. 

Bitcoin’s price was trading at $62,677, down 0.8% in the last 24 hours. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around BTC remained in the ‘bearish’ zone, while the chatter stayed at ‘high’ levels over the past day.

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