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A cryptocurrency regulation bill advanced out of the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, clearing a key hurdle with the support of a pair of Democrats following a last-minute bipartisan push.
The Senate panel voted 15-9 to send the Clarity Act to the floor, with Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) joining their GOP colleagues to advance the measure.
The vote marked a major step forward for the bill, which has faced a long and winding path through the Senate over the past year. However, the final tally may preview the problems it could face on the floor, where it will need more Democratic support to get across the finish line.
“Through serious, bipartisan negotiations, we have made incredible progress on this bill. We have narrowed the gap on many of the outstanding issues,” Gallego said in a statement following the markup.
“My vote today is so we can continue these efforts. But I want to be clear: My vote here does not guarantee a vote on the floor,” he added.
The markup of the bill, which aims to provide guidelines for federal regulators overseeing the crypto industry, comes after months of negotiations between Senate Republicans and a contingent of crypto-friendly Democrats.
Talks continued down to the wire, with senators indicating that discussions were ongoing as of Thursday morning.
This appears to have proved somewhat fruitful, as Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) opted to add in several amendments part way through the markup at the request of several Democrats “to make this a bipartisan outcome.”
The move underscored the unique dynamics of the crypto negotiations, which have split the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), and the crypto-friendly cohort of Democrats that have been involved in talks.
Warren, a staunch crypto critic who dismissed the Clarity Act as “a bill written by the crypto industry for the crypto industry,” slammed Scott’s decision to add the amendments mid-markup after he deemed several other amendments as ineligible.
“It seems to me, Mr. Chairman, following the rules you announced at the beginning, either we know all of the amendments when we walk in and that’s the end of it, or if you’re going to start opening it up, let’s open it up to everyone,” Warren said.
The procedural dispute threw the markup into disarray, prompting Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) to suggest the amendments instead be baked into an amendment on the Senate floor.
However, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) stepped in and pushed for the amendments to move forward in the committee.
“I would actually prefer, because of the good faith that Sen. [Cynthia] Lummis [R-Wyo.] has shown and I intend to work more on this bill, but … this would move me much closer if these amendments are not put off until the floor,” Warner said.
The Virginia Democrat was joined by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Gallego and Alsobrooks in voting to pass several amendments alongside Republicans. But only the last two ultimately supported advancing the full bill out of committee.
“At least eight Democratic votes will be needed to pass the bill on the Senate floor,” Brian Gardner, chief Washington policy strategist at the wealth management and investment banking firm Stifel, wrote in a note Thursday.
“Several of the necessary votes will have to come from some of the committee Democrats who voted ‘no’ today,” he added.
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