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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that Congress is at the “1-yard line” on the Clarity Act, urging lawmakers to pass the crypto bill before the August recess, according to Bloomberg.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) spiked toward $67,000 after the comments, while Coinbase Global COIN shares jumped more than 11%. Both have slightly pared their gains.
Democrats Say They Have Not Seen the Deal
The White House reportedly agreed on an ethics package for the bill Monday, according to Crypto In America host Eleanor Terrett. The language was sent to certain Senate Republicans, but Democrats say they were shut out of the talks and have not seen the text.
That matters because the bill needs 60 votes to pass the Senate, and Republicans only have 53. At least seven Democrats must cross over.
Democrats have named their price: rules preventing the president and other senior officials from profiting off crypto. That demand hardened after a government disclosure reportedly showed President Donald Trump earned around $1.4 billion in crypto-related income in 2025.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) told Fox Business on Tuesday the Senate is “almost there,” saying the biggest holdup is Democrats reading the new amendments. He said there appears to be “some agreement that the Department of Justice would be the prevailing enforcer” of the ethics rules, rather than state attorneys general as Democrats had preferred.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), one of only two Democrats to back the bill in committee, called DOJ-based enforcement “unserious,” according to CoinDesk. Democrats reportedly worry the department is sufficiently controlled by the president that the rules may never be used against him.
What Polymarket Thinks
Polymarket’s contract on the Clarity Act being signed into law in 2026 traded near 47% Tuesday, up from a record low of 31% earlier this month but still short of a coin flip.
Even before this week’s developments, Galaxy Research had cut its passage odds to 50-50, citing the shrinking Senate calendar rather than the bill’s substance.
Even Senator Cramer hedged on timing, saying, “I don’t know that we get to it this week.” Only 14 working days remain before the recess.
The stakes may be substantial. Citi cut its 12-month Bitcoin target to $82,000 from $112,000 earlier this month, slashing its ETF inflow expectations to zero after concluding the legislative timeline had slipped.
The bank noted that unexpected legislative progress could quickly change that outlook.
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This article Crypto Rallies as Bessent Talks Up the Clarity Act; Polymarket Still Puts Odds Below a Coin Flip originally appeared on Benzinga.com.
