Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott and key crypto industry executives insist the CLARITY Act remains on track for passage despite Coinbase's surprise withdrawal of support, which forced the cancellation of a scheduled markup session and exposed deep divisions over the direction of U.S. market structure reform.
What Happened: Senate Markup Postponed
Coinbase's abrupt announcement that it would no longer back the legislation triggered immediate fallout on Capitol Hill. The Senate Banking Committee pulled its scheduled markup, journalist Eleanor Terrett confirmed on Jan. 15.
Scott moved to contain the damage.
"I've spoken with leaders across the crypto industry, the financial sector, and my Democratic and Republican colleagues, and everyone remains at the table working in good faith," he said, adding that the goal is delivering "clear rules of the road that protect consumers, strengthen national security, and ensure the future of finance is built in the US."
Senator Cynthia Lummis, a key architect of the bill, acknowledged frustration but rejected the notion that Coinbase had derailed the effort.
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Why It Matters: Industry Consensus Holds
Industry leaders largely rallied behind the legislation. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called the Senate's effort "a massive step forward in providing workable frameworks for crypto" and said he remains optimistic that outstanding issues can be resolved during the markup process.
"Clarity beats chaos," Garlinghouse wrote on X.
a16z executive Chris Dixon argued that while the bill is imperfect, the time to act is now.
Kraken executive Arjun Sethi framed the moment as a test of resolve rather than failure. "It is easy to declare failure. It is easy to walk away when a process gets difficult," he said, warning that abandoning the legislation would "lock in uncertainty and leave American companies operating under ambiguity."
White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks weighed in on Jan. 15, saying passage "remains as close as it's ever been" and urging the industry to use the pause to resolve differences.
No new markup date has been announced.
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