Thune's CR Delay Ties Clarity Act in Knots — XRP Stumbles, Asia Eyes the Door 🪢

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) confirmed late Thursday that the U.S. Senate will not hold a procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act before the August recess, pushing the crypto market structure bill to September and narrowing the window to just weeks before midterm campaigning consumes the calendar. "The Dems are insistent on no Clarity vote," Thune said, according to a post by his press office. "I worked with sponsors of the bill. @SenLummis was great, and we're getting that queued up first thing when we come back." POLITICO reporter Jordain Carney confirmed the delay on X, writing that Thune "just confirmed our scoop that Senate is punting clarity vote until September."

The Senate convened briefly over the week to address a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government, voting 89-4 to prevent a shutdown ahead of the midterms. Thune filed cloture on Calendar No. 449, S. 4668, the Protect College Sports Act of 2026, on the nomination of Todd Blanche to be U.S. Attorney General (Executive Calendar No. 914), on Calendar No. 320, "Continuing Resolution," H.R. 6500, and on the Collins substitute amendment #6732 to the CR. He also filed cloture on Executive Calendar No. 910, the nomination of Erica Schwartz to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CLARITY Act was not included in any cloture filings during the session. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene on September 14, with a procedural vote on the bill expected around September 15.

The bill faces a 60-vote threshold to overcome a Democratic filibuster, and Republicans hold 53 seats. The legislation cleared the Senate Banking Committee 15-9 in May, with only Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) crossing from the Democratic side. Roughly six Democrats would need to back the bill on the floor. Unresolved issues include stablecoin rewards, illicit finance provisions, and ethics rules addressing President Donald Trump's crypto holdings. Trump reported $1.4 billion in crypto and meme coin earnings for 2025 and holds a 38% stake in World Liberty Financial through an affiliated company. An addendum negotiated by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Gallego, still unreleased and being worked out with the White House, would require the president to divest from crypto-related businesses and would let him defer federal capital gains tax on those holdings, potentially for years. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have both used the same provision on their own divestments. "We've got people working with the White House right now… they're going through some of the lines right now," Tillis told reporters.

Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said Friday that she was frustrated by the chamber's inaction. "You can imagine how frustrated I am," she said. "I will continue working with my colleagues to get this done — this fight is far from over." Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and the exchange's chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad called the delay "disappointing" and said September would be the time to "finish the job." Bitmine Chair Tom Lee wrote in the company's weekly report that "financial markets seem more focused on the recent softer inflation and jobs data" rather than any potential impact of CLARITY not passing. Vincent Chok, founder and CEO of stablecoin issuer First Digital, told Cointelegraph that the delay could give jurisdictions with clearer regulatory frameworks an advantage in attracting capital and talent. "Markets can adapt to slower timelines, but what they struggle with is prolonged uncertainty," he said. Wellington-Altus chief market strategist James E. Thorne called the postponement a "fold" by Thune and wrote on X that "Washington chose to live in ambiguity, letting Warren and the bank lobby weaponise uncertainty."

Market reaction was concentrated in XRP, which fell roughly 2% over 24 hours to about $1.02–$1.03 and declined about 5% over the past week, the weakest performance among major tokens. Bitcoin held near $64,300 and was flat on the week, ether sat around $1,897, Solana fell to nearly $73, and Dogecoin slipped to under 7 cents. BNB held at $591, and Hyperliquid's HYPE led majors over seven days at 1.3%. Spot bitcoin funds took in about $626 million between Aug. 3 and Aug. 5, helping defend the $63,000 to $64,000 area, while XRP-focused ETFs saw net inflows for a fourth straight week, though new capital dropped roughly 93% week-over-week to about $1 million, according to SoSoValue. The Federal Reserve held rates at 3.50% to 3.75% in July, with three officials voting to raise. Upcoming U.S. employment and July inflation data could determine whether $BTC retests resistance around $66,000 or falls back toward $63,000.