Republicans reject Democrats’ CLARITY Act counteroffer ahead of vote

The CLARITY Act, Congress’s most ambitious attempt to draw clear regulatory lines around digital assets, appears to be running out of runway. Senate Republicans rejected a Democratic counteroffer late on September 14, setting the stage for a cloture vote on September 15 at 2:15 p.m. ET that few expect will succeed. The math is brutal. Republicans hold 53 Senate seats, meaning at least seven Democrats need to cross the aisle to hit the 60-vote threshold for cloture. How a bipartisan bill became a partisan standoff The House passed the CLARITY Act 294-134 in July 2025, with 78 Democrats voting in favor. The bill’s core idea is straightforward enough: split digital asset oversight between the CFTC and the SEC. Tokens that qualify as digital commodities would fall under the CFTC’s purview, while securities-like assets would remain with the SEC. No specific tokens are named in the legislative text, a deliberate choice to keep the framework broad rather than reactive. The Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill in May 2026 with a 15-9 vote, picking up two Democratic votes along the way. Republicans released what they called their “last, best and final offer” on September 14, a revised...