Bipartisan U.S. Senate Deal Targets Crypto Crime in Revised Market Structure Bill

CoinDesk reports that Senate negotiators have reached a long-awaited compromise to bolster enforcement language in the Clarity Act, a major cryptocurrency market structure bill that has been stuck for months. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley and Sen. Cynthia Lummis agreed on a bipartisan framework designed to balance support for innovation with law enforcement priorities. Sources familiar with the talks say the deal would strengthen prosecutors' ability to pursue anti-money laundering cases against "crypto participants with clear culpability." Lummis said the agreement preserves key protections for software developers, citing BRCA and a Section 1960 safe harbor, while giving agencies broader authority to pursue bad actors. "Thank you, Chuck Grassley, for ensuring the CLEAR Act includes BRCA/Section 1960 protections for software developers while still providing law enforcement with the tools they need," she said. She also called the measure "the most law enforcementfriendly digital assets bill Congress has considered to date" and urged passage. The compromise adds momentum to long-stalled efforts to set federal rules for crypto markets. The Senate Banking Committee said late last Friday it plans to review and vote on the bill this Thursday. If approved, it would advance to the full Senate. Market expectations have risen. On the regulated prediction market Kalshi, odds that Congress passes a comprehensive Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market structure bill this year have climbed above 75%. Banking industry opposition is also intensifying. The American Bankers Association has launched a late-stage lobbying push to delay the vote or reshape the legislation, focusing on stablecoin language. ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols said the draft has improved but warned it still "is not sufficient to prevent cryptocurrency companies from offering interestlike rewards on stablecoin payments." Nichols wrote that, without further changes, the proposal could "unnecessarily stimulate bank deposits to flow into payment stablecoins," which he said would threaten economic growth and financial stability. A White House official, Patrick Witt, summarized the state of negotiations on Capitol Hill: "These trades will continue until the situation becomes clearer."