CLARITY Act Hits Legislative Trifecta: Ethics, Ag, and BRCA Walk Into the Senate 🏛️

The White House convened roughly 20 administration officials, congressional staff, and law enforcement representatives on Wednesday, June 10, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building for what journalist Eleanor Terrett described as a "substantive discussion and debate" on the CLARITY Act, with much of the focus on the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) and "potential solutions to strengthen" enforcement against on-chain crime. Attendees included White House crypto czar David Sacks, White House Crypto Council Executive Director Patrick Witt, and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who delivered opening remarks before departing. Law enforcement groups present included the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Police Organizations, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National District Attorneys Association, the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, the National Sheriffs' Association, and officials from the Department of Justice, Treasury, and FinCEN. The meeting centered on Section 604 of the CLARITY Act, which incorporates the BRCA, a provision that some officials believe "could make it harder to combat illicit finance" and pursue "bad actors operating onchain." Senators Mark Warner and Catherine Cortez Masto have tied their support to law enforcement sign-off.

A separate closed-door ethics meeting on Tuesday, June 9, ended without agreement. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Ruben Gallego, Bernie Moreno, and Cynthia Lummis attended alongside Witt, and Democrats described the session as "rocky," citing an "about-face" by Republicans and the White House on a tentative May framework. That deal would have permitted state attorneys general to sue the DOJ for failing to enforce ethics rules tied to President Donald Trump's crypto interests, including actions against members of Congress. Republicans countered with enforcement authority limited to the Attorney General and floated impeachment as a remedy, which Democrats rejected. The group is expected to reconvene Thursday. Trump's family has been reported to have earned an estimated $2.3 billion from crypto ventures, and Democrats including Gallego and Senator Angela Alsobrooks have said continued support depends on strong ethics guardrails.

On the developer-protection side, more than 60 firms including Hyperliquid, Solana, MultiCoin Capital, and the DeFi Education Fund pressed the Senate on June 9 to preserve BRCA's developer safe harbor. MultiCoin Capital co-founder Tushar Jain said, "Defending developers is defending America's edge in the technologies that matter most." The push followed a June 7 joint letter signed by more than 200 crypto organizations, including Stand With Crypto, the Blockchain Association, the Crypto Council for Innovation, and The Digital Chamber, urging Senate leaders John Thune and Chuck Schumer to schedule a floor vote. "The Senate should now build on that momentum and give members the opportunity to advance durable market structure legislation," the letter stated, warning that "the question before Congress is whether that future will be built in the United States — under U.S. law, U.S. oversight, and American values — or continue moving to offshore jurisdictions." Earlier, over 160 law enforcement officials publicly backed the bill.

Senator Cynthia Lummis wrote on social media, "The CLARITY Act passed committee. The floor is next," after the Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill with bipartisan support. Speaking to Terrett, Witt said the White House remains "still making great progress across three areas that the Democratic Senators had raised as the ones they wanted to see progress on," describing daily "trifecta" sessions on agriculture, ethics, and the BRCA: "Every day, we're doing trifecta. Mornings or afternoons on Ag, ethics, and BRCA. … So we're making progress on all fronts, every day. Groups are at the table, trading paper. So, I'm still optimistic that we could hit that timeline." Witt reaffirmed the July 4 target as the White House's stated goal, adding that the Senate has roughly 31 session days before the August recess and the bill needs 60 votes to advance.

Industry observers also flagged banking-sector resistance. Last month, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said banks would "fight" parts of the legislation on stablecoin regulation, arguing that crypto firms offering payment and deposit-like services should face banking-style liquidity, AML, capital, and consumer protection requirements. House lawmakers separately unveiled crypto tax proposals to address double taxation on miners and stakers; Witt characterized the package as "Clarity for market structure, Parity for tax." Prediction markets reflect the strain: Polymarket traders priced the bill's 2026 passage odds near 48%, down from 74% a month ago, while Kalshi listed 46% odds for passage by year-end and 30% for passage before the August recess. The Senate's packed calendar and the ethics deadlock leave the CLARITY Act's path to a floor vote unresolved as negotiations continue.