TLDR
- The Senate votes on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on September 15
- Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says crypto gets regulatory clarity either way
- The bill divides crypto oversight between the SEC and CFTC
- Banks and crypto companies are in an active lobbying war across U.S. states
- Democrats want stronger ethics and anti-money laundering rules before supporting it
The U.S. Senate is set to hold a procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on September 15. The bill would create a formal federal framework for crypto exchanges, brokers, and stablecoins, and would define which tokens are securities and which are commodities.
In July, I called on the Senate to advance the Clarity Act — a bill to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets and upgrade our ability to prevent bad actors from exploiting these critical technologies.
When the Senate returns from August recess, I…
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) September 9, 2026
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told CNBC this week that the crypto industry will gain regulatory clarity no matter what happens on that date.
“If it passes, great, we’ve got legislation,” Armstrong said. “If it doesn’t pass, the SEC and CFTC have said they’re ready to publish rulemaking.”
What the Clarity Act Would Do
The bill officially splits crypto oversight between two regulators. The Securities and Exchange Commission would handle tokens classified as securities. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission would oversee decentralized commodities like bitcoin.
Armstrong said the bill has broad bipartisan support. He added that law enforcement groups, banks, and crypto companies are all backing it. He said the main issues Coinbase had previously flagged “have now been resolved.”
One area still being worked out is the ethics provision for elected officials who hold digital assets. Armstrong said the White House has already put a strong proposal on the table, and that Democrats are asking for something slightly stricter, including divestiture rules. He said both sides “appear to be very close to a solution.”
Lobbying Battle Moves to Home States
The fight over the bill did not pause during the congressional recess. Crypto companies and banking groups took their campaigns directly to senators in their home states through op-eds, letter-writing drives, and in-person meetings.
Stand With Crypto, an advocacy group backed by Coinbase, said its supporters contacted members of Congress nearly 50,000 times during August. The group has held events in states including Iowa, Michigan, Georgia, and others.
On the other side, the Independent Community Bankers of America has been meeting with senators in their home offices. They are concerned that the bill’s stablecoin provision could allow digital tokens to compete with bank deposits, which they say could hurt lending.
Democrats say the bill still needs stronger money laundering and ethics safeguards before they can support it. Getting to 60 votes in the Senate requires some Democratic support.
Armstrong also pushed back at critics from the banking sector, including JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who has said the bill gives Coinbase a regulatory advantage over banks. Without naming Dimon, Armstrong said critics with large payments businesses are “talking their own book.” He pointed to Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon, and Fidelity as institutions that have backed the bill.
Armstrong also said Coinbase has a leading position in what he called agentic finance, noting that over 90% of agentic payments so far have run on Base, the blockchain Coinbase created.
On bitcoin, Armstrong repeated his view that $400,000 by 2030 is “a reasonable target” and said “the bottom is in” for the current cycle.
The September 15 vote will be procedural, but analysts say it could determine whether the bill moves forward or stalls entirely.
