On Thursday, May 14, the US Senate Banking Committee voted 15-9 to advance the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, the comprehensive market structure bill that establishes regulatory boundaries between the SEC and the CFTC over digital assets.
The vote followed several hours of partisan dispute over amendments, with Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) securing a bipartisan margin through procedural concessions.
Bitcoin rallied from $79,600 to approximately $81,980 within the hour of the result, with 24-hour trading volume rising 22.29% to $40.31 billion.
15-9 bipartisan vote advances bill to full Senate
The bill drew bipartisan support after Scott agreed to admit a series of additional amendments during the markup.
The committee considered more than 100 filed amendments over the course of the session, with most failing on party-line votes. Notable outcomes:
- AI sandbox amendment by Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) passed 15-9 with bipartisan support, allowing experimental regulatory environments for AI-driven crypto tools
- Bank supervision disclosure amendment related to Epstein-era oversight, filed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), failed 11-13, with Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) indicating he would have supported a modified version
- Stablecoin yield compromise survived intact: issuers are prohibited from paying interest solely for holding stablecoins, but user incentives tied to related activities remain permitted
The structural disagreement that had stalled the bill since January centered on jurisdictional clarity between the SEC and CFTC, consumer and developer protections, and the stablecoin yield question.
The May 14 text incorporated a compromise on the yield issue that crypto firms had publicly backed earlier in the month.
Two Democrats cross the aisle: Warner and Alsobrooks
The two Democrats who voted in favor were Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).
Multiple other Democrats indicated they were reserving final judgment until law-enforcement and ethics provisions are addressed in the next stage.
The bipartisan margin matters operationally: a 15-9 committee vote signals enough Senate floor support to clear the 60-vote threshold required to break a filibuster, provided current alignment holds.
🚨 WATCH: Chairman @SenatorTimScott leads the Senate Banking Committee in a historic markup of the CLARITY Act, legislation to establish clear rules of the road for digital assets. https://t.co/wlHj2jcAEF
— U.S. Senate Banking Committee GOP (@BankingGOP) May 14, 2026
Bitcoin recovers $2,000 in minutes on the news
The price reaction was immediate. Bitcoin had been trading near $79,600 earlier in the session, having broken below the $80,000 psychological level on hot April CPI data published Thursday morning.
The vote outcome flipped sentiment within roughly 90 minutes: BTC reclaimed $80,000, then $81,000, and traded near $81,980 at press time.
Market capitalisation rose to $1.64 trillion. Ether reclaimed $2,303, Solana traded near $92.72, and XRP added 4.40% to $1.49.
The bid was broad, not concentrated. Spot Bitcoin ETF flows, which had recorded $635 million in net outflows earlier in the session, saw partial recovery in the after-hours window.
The CME futures basis widened modestly, suggesting institutional desks were repositioning rather than retail-driven leverage.
Full Senate vote next, July 4 White House target
The CLARITY Act now advances to a full Senate floor vote. Companion legislation from the Senate Agriculture Committee, the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act (DCIA), passed in January on a 12-11 party-line vote.
The two bills will need to be merged before a unified floor vote. If passed by the Senate, the bill returns to the House, which approved an earlier version of the legislation in July 2025.
The White House has signalled July 4, 2026 as a target signing date. That timeline depends on Senate floor scheduling, which Majority Leader John Thune controls, and on whether House Republicans accept the Senate’s stablecoin yield compromise without further amendment.
Industry leaders had publicly framed the markup as the most consequential single Senate action on crypto market structure in 2026.
