Hagerty Calls the Clarity Act a Must-Pass Bill U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty used a Fox Business appearance to declare the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act a non-negotiable legislative priority,
U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty used a Fox Business appearance to declare the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act a non-negotiable legislative priority, warning that the country risks ceding ground in the global digital asset race. "There's no way that we can allow the U.S. to fall behind in the digital assets arena," he said.
Hagerty has been a long-standing backer of the legislation. In July 2025, Senators Tim Scott, Cynthia Lummis, Bill Hagerty, and Bernie Moreno released an initial Senate discussion draft and requested stakeholder feedback. His renewed push on Fox Business underscores the urgency now facing the bill as the August recess approaches.
Hagerty argues the bill is the only credible fix to a jurisdictional standoff between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a conflict that has long held back institutional capital from the sector. Regulatory clarity has been the single most cited reason institutional capital has stayed on the sidelines, and a defined CFTC-SEC jurisdiction split removes one of the largest structural objections fund managers have used to justify limited allocation.
The bill establishes clear rules of the road by drawing a bright line between SEC and CFTC jurisdiction and replacing the SEC's regulation-by-enforcement model with a workable statutory framework.Under the framework, the CFTC takes primary authority over digital commodities like Bitcoin and Ethereum spot markets, while the SEC handles assets that behave more like securities.
The practical deadline is August 7, the final scheduled Senate workday before the recess. If lawmakers fail to reach an agreement, the bill may face a much narrower path to passage later in 2026.The bill requires 60 votes to pass and must also undergo further reconciliation between committee versions before it can head to the president.
A merged 616-page Senate text landed on July 22 carrying a first-of-its-kind ethics provision, but three fights remain unresolved: who enforces the ethics rules, whether stablecoin rewards survive, and how far developer protections extend.Senate Majority Leader Thune has conceded the pre-recess deadline will likely be missed, though the bill may get a start on the floor before then.Congressional prediction markets currently estimate only a 30 to 38 percent chance of the Act passing before year-end.
If lawmakers reach an agreement, the United States will take an important step toward providing much-needed clarity for crypto businesses at all levels. Failure would mean the crypto industry will have to wait until the next Congress to resolve the issue.
Sources:CoinDesk: Clarity Act Expected to Miss Summer Window, Leadership SaysBitcoin Foundation: The Clarity Act August 10 Final DeadlineU.S. Senate Banking Committee: The Facts on the CLARITY Act
