Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Demands Congress Act Now on Crypto

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on the Senate Banking Committee to hold a markup of the CLARITY Act and send it to President Trump’s desk.

The op-ed marks Bessent’s most direct public push yet for the crypto market structure bill.

Why Bessent Is Pressing Now

The CLARITY Act passed the House in July 2025 with a bipartisan 294-134 vote. However, it has stalled in the Senate over disputes about stablecoin yield provisions and competing committee drafts.

Bessent framed the legislation as an extension of the GENIUS Act, which President Trump signed into law in July 2025 to regulate dollar-backed stablecoins.

Without the CLARITY Act, the Treasury Secretary argued, the stablecoin framework lacks the broader market structure to support tokenized assets and decentralized exchanges.

Congress has spent the better part of half a decade trying to pass a framework to onshore the future of finance. It is time for US Senate Banking Committee to hold a markup and send the CLARITY Act to President Trump’s desk,” wrote Bessent.

He pointed to the global digital asset market, which fluctuates between $2 trillion and $3 trillion, and noted that nearly 1 in 6 Americans holds some form of digital asset.

Senate Faces Tight Window

The political calendar adds urgency. The 2026 midterm elections threaten to shift control of Congress, potentially stalling crypto legislation beyond this year.

Senator Cynthia Lummis indicated in March that a Banking Committee hearing could take place in late April.

In March, Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks reportedly reached an agreement in principle on the stablecoin yield provision, one of the bill’s largest obstacles.

Still, outstanding issues around decentralized finance protections and illicit finance provisions remain unresolved.

Bessent warned in the op-ed that regulatory uncertainty has already pushed crypto development to jurisdictions with clearer rules, naming Abu Dhabi and Singapore specifically.

He argued the CLARITY Act would establish registration pathways for trading platforms, define when a digital asset qualifies as a security, and strengthen anti-money-laundering oversight.

Whether the Senate Banking Committee acts before midterm pressures consume the legislative calendar will determine if the bill reaches Trump’s desk this year.

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