JP Morgan Says CLARITY Act Still Has a Narrow Path

JPMorgan is not ready to write off the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act just yet, even after the bill suffered a stinging procedural defeat in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

A Narrow but Open Door

"We understand that the bill remains on the Senate calendar and leadership could call for another vote before this Congress adjourns at the end of the year," JPMorgan analysts said in a Wednesday note. The bank was quick to add, however, that the remaining window for passage is extremely narrow.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed to survive the politics of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday as a 49-50 vote meant to start the bill toward passage fell far short of the 60 supporters required to advance. Every Democrat present voted no, including senators who had spent months negotiating the bill, such as Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks, with their main objection being that the bill's ethics provisions were not strong enough to address crypto profits made by President Trump and his family.

Republican leaders had released a revised version of the bill on Sunday, adding new ethics restrictions to address Democratic concerns about public officials profiting from crypto ventures. Those changes were not enough, however, to resolve the remaining opposition.

Tillis Maneuver Keeps Revival Alive

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina voted "no," but did so for procedural reasons so he could enter a motion to reconsider and preserve the option of a future vote. He initially voted yes and then switched to no so that, under Senate rules, he could file a motion to reconsider as a member of the prevailing side, a mechanism that preserves the ability for leadership to bring the same cloture question back without restarting the process from zero.

The motion to reconsider, filed at 3:01 p.m. Eastern Time immediately after the result was announced, keeps a procedural path open for leadership to bring the same cloture question back without starting the process from zero, though it does not, by itself, create the additional votes needed to reach 60.

The bill would create a new federal regulatory framework for the $2.3 trillion crypto industry, but has faced growing opposition from Democrats due to President Donald Trump's investments in the sector. The setback is a significant blow to the cryptocurrency industry's lobbying efforts ahead of the midterm elections, as crypto groups have spent heavily in recent election cycles and viewed the Clarity Act as a cornerstone of their push for comprehensive federal regulation.

With Congress scheduled to spend much of October in recess and the political calendar tightening before year-end, the path JPMorgan describes as still open is, by its own admission, extremely slim.

Sources:
CNBC: Senate cloture vote on Clarity Act fails, dealing regulatory blow to crypto industry
CoinDesk: Crypto Clarity Act flames out in failed U.S. Senate vote
Axios: Crypto's Clarity Act fails to advance in Senate