Tuesday 15 September 2026, 2:15 p.m. in Washington. The U.S. Senate votes. Not to pass the crypto bill. To open debate. The text is the CLARITY Act. The move is called cloture.

It takes 60 votes. Republicans hold 53. If they stay united, they still need seven Democrats or independents. A yes does not make the law. It starts the discussion.

What the vote covers

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (H.R. 3633) is meant to say who regulates what: the SEC, the CFTC, platforms, developers. Sens. Cynthia Lummis, Tim Scott and John Boozman released on Sunday night what they call the final text. Unchained and The Block describe it as 635 pages and 126 changes requested by Democrats.

If cloture passes, that text would be offered as a substitute amendment. Amendments, a final vote and the House would still have to follow. The Senate’s state work period starts 5 October. The calendar is short.

Ethics and stablecoins

The sticking point: conflicts of interest. The draft limits, for officials, judges, the president, the vice-president and their spouses, sponsoring, issuing or keeping a significant financial interest in digital assets. Spouses, not children. State attorneys general would have a role. This is not the forced sale some Democrats had asked for.

Donald Trump accepted part of that frame, the same sources say. Treasury could also impose an 18-month circuit breaker on payment-stablecoin rewards if those tokens drain deposits from community banks.

What it is not

It is not a vote on the bitcoin price. It is not an EU licence. Even if it succeeds, it is not a law already in force. Lummis said Democrats got what they wanted, “now they need to take yes for an answer”. No Democratic leader had, as of 14 September, announced the caucus position.

As of 15 September, before the vote: text published, 60-vote bar, seven extra votes needed if the GOP holds. No result known when these lines were closed.