Senate abandons August CLARITY Act vote – leaving 14 ‘work days’ until midterm election season kills it

The US Senate has abandoned plans to vote on the landmark CLARITY Act legislation before its August break.On Aug. 6, Senate Majority Leader John Thune confirmed that the legislation will have to wait until lawmakers return Sept. 14, reversing his earlier expectation that the Senate would act before leaving Washington.A spokesperson for the lawmaker said on X:“The Dems are insistent on no Clarity vote… I worked with sponsors of the bill…and we’re getting that queued up first thing when we come back.”The retreat caps weeks of pressure from crypto executives and Republican lawmakers who had pushed for senators to vote before the recess.Consequently, prediction traders have marked down the bill's prospects for this year. A Polymarket contract on whether CLARITY will be signed into law by the end of 2026 put the probability at about 14%, after odds had risen above 80% earlier this year.CLARITY Act Odds of Passage in 2026 (Source: Polymarket)Why did the CLARITY Act stall?CLARITY stalled because Republican negotiators could not resolve the banking, ethics, and illicit-finance disputes needed to assemble 60 Senate votes to advance the legislation.One complication emerged from within their ...