Galaxy's research director estimates the CLARITY bill's timeline, predicting it could be sent to Trump for signature as early as August.

According to ME News, on May 16th (UTC+8), Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy, posted on the X platform that the U.S. Senate Banking Committee passed the CLARITY Act (digital asset market structure legislation) 15-9 on Thursday, pushing the bill towards a full Senate vote. Key developments: During the vote, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) expressed support for moving the bill out of the committee, but emphasized that the committee's "agreement" did not equate to a final vote of approval. Committee Chairman Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) announced a bipartisan compromise, incorporating five amendments proposed by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), which ultimately passed. In the final committee vote, only Gallego and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) voted in favor, moving the bill out of the committee. Both Democratic senators emphasized that they had not yet guaranteed a full Senate vote. Next steps: The Banking Committee version needs to be reconciled and integrated with the version previously passed by the Agriculture Committee. Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-SD) has scheduled a full Senate debate, which is expected to take about a week. If it proceeds according to schedule, CLARITY is expected to complete Senate-House coordination and be sent to President Trump for signature by August. From an observational perspective: This committee vote indicates that the CLARITY bill still has the potential for bipartisan support, especially with Gallego and Alsobrooks voting across party lines during the meeting, increasing the likelihood of the bill passing the full Senate. The core outstanding issue is the "ethics clause," which involves restrictions on the holding or profit-making of digital assets by senior government officials and related individuals. Other areas that may be further negotiated include DeFi regulation and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA). Overall, the CLARITY Act will lay the foundation for innovation and investor protection in the US digital asset market, similar in significance to the historical impact of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Exchange Act of 1934 on the capital markets. (Source: ME)