Clarity Act vote looms as Senate Democrats remain divided

Winning the procedural ballot would not enact the Clarity Act, yet it would point to a bipartisan route for the first comprehensive national framework regulating digital asset market structure, something crypto markets have anticipated for more than a year. Ongoing Democratic opposition, chiefly around clauses involving President Trump's family crypto businesses, would instead suggest a lengthier and less certain path through Congress, prolonging the regulatory uncertainty that has discouraged institutional involvement in US crypto markets. Her role is significant given that Gillibrand has in the past worked out crypto-friendly deals in the chamber, and whether she can win over fellow Democrats may decide if the measure gets past its first procedural test this week.

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Earlier:

• Senate Democrats huddle before Tuesday's key Clarity Act vote; what it means for BTC and ETH.

Away from the cameras, Gillibrand has been pressing her caucus to allow floor debate on a cryptocurrency measure that has divided Democrats about how strict to be with the sector and with the president's crypto holdings.

Summary:

• Politico reports that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has been privately encouraging Democrats to back Tuesday's move to take up the Clarity Act, which is a procedural step, not a final passage vote.
• At a later point, Republicans in the Senate would still require 60 votes to approve the legislation.
• Roughly 12 Democrats have shown a willingness to support the measure and are examining revised language that Republicans put out late Sunday, changing parts Democrats asked to have modified.
• Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator, heads Democratic resistance, saying the measure benefits the crypto sector and treats President Trump's family crypto companies too gently.
• According to an aide, Gillibrand continues to seek robust consumer safeguards and holds that a president should not earn from a business sector under his supervision.
• As chair of the Senate Democrats' campaign committee, Gillibrand has previously come under fire from progressives for her crypto positions.

Citing three people with knowledge of the private conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity, Politico said Gillibrand is urging her Democratic colleagues to support moving ahead on a significant crypto bill scheduled for Senate consideration Tuesday. The New York senator, a steady pro-crypto voice in her party, has argued in closed-door sessions that they should back the procedural step, which would start debate rather than decide passage.

The difference is important. A favorable vote on Tuesday would merely allow discussion of the legislation, the Clarity Act, and later Senate Republicans would still have to reach 60 votes to put it into law. About twelve Democrats have indicated a readiness to back the bill and are considering a revised version issued by Senate Republicans on Sunday night that changes provisions Democrats had sought. It is not settled whether those changes will be enough to win their support.

Her stance puts Gillibrand at odds with a faction of Democrats who consider the bill skewed toward the businesses it would supervise. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts heads a group of Democrats who view the bill as a giveaway to crypto firms that have spent years lobbying for lighter rules, and who contend the measure inadequately deals with President Trump's family crypto interests.

A person from Gillibrand's office said the senator still thinks Congress must adopt solid consumer-protection measures and that an incumbent president ought not to make money from an industry he regulates, and that she welcomes a public debate on those issues.

The divisions highlight how a measure meant to set more defined national rules for digital asset markets has gotten caught up in wider Democratic worries about the Trump family's financial involvement with crypto. Gillibrand, who also leads the party's Senate campaign operation, has already faced reproach from progressives for her industry positions. Tuesday's vote will show whether the bill has a bipartisan route forward or founders against ongoing Democratic objections tied to presidential conflicts of interest.

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Market response will probably depend on whether Tuesday's vote comes across as progress for the legislation or yet another sign of deadlock. Throughout 2026, Bitcoin and Ether have moved sharply on Clarity Act headlines, climbing when ethical-provision advances were reported and falling when the bill's chances worsened, with liquidations reaching hundreds of millions of dollars during the biggest swings. Ether has now recovered to above $2,500 in September, making the token more exposed to negative surprises than it was when trading near $1,900 earlier in the year. Smooth passage of the procedural step would likely be seen as positive for both digital assets, whereas a blocked or unsuccessful vote would threaten a repeat of the selloffs seen in prior legislative setbacks.