Thune filed cloture in the closing minutes before the August recess, giving the crypto market structure bill a Sept. 15 floor vote it still may not survive.
Original Image Credits: Joshua Sukoff / Shutterstock.com
Posted August 10, 2026 at 7:01 am EST.
The U.S. Senate will take its first floor vote on crypto market structure legislation on Sept. 15, after Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) at 4:52 a.m. ET Saturday filed cloture on the motion to proceed to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. The filing came in the final minutes of an overnight session that extended beyond the chamber’s scheduled Friday departure for the August recess.
Thune filed on H.R. 3633, calendar number 423, immediately after filing cloture on a judicial nomination, according to the Senate Press Gallery’s floor log. The Senate reconvenes Sept. 14 and will vote on the motion at 2:15 p.m. ET on Sept. 15, according to Crypto In America host Eleanor Terrett.
This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.
Subscribe here to get these updates in your email for free
Ji Hun Kim, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, called the filing “a critical step forward” while noting his group had wanted full Senate consideration before the break, and said it would spend the recess courting votes in both parties.
Invoking cloture would only limit debate on the motion to proceed. It would not pass the bill or open debate on the legislation itself. Cloture requires 60 votes, and with Republicans holding 53 seats, the motion needs at least seven Democrats or independents even if every Republican votes yes, which is not assured. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has said he will withhold support until the bill addresses the risk of deposits draining from community banks.
Other sticking points that kept the bill off the floor, such as the government-ethics provision, illicit-finance language and how the Senate Agriculture Committee’s text gets merged in, have not been resolved. Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) sent the White House an ethics compromise last month that would require President Donald Trump to divest from crypto businesses. Trump has not signed off.
Galaxy Research cut its odds of passage this year from 50% to 30%. Polymarket most recently put the odds at 21%.
The bill cleared Senate Banking 15-9 in May with two Democrats crossing over, after the House passed its version in July 2025.
Related Listen: Kristin Smith on Why the Clarity Act Comes Down to a Memecoin
AI-assisted content: This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by a member of the Unchained editorial team before publication.
Regulation,CLARITY Act,John Thune,market structure,yahooCLARITY Act,John Thune,market structure,yahoo#Clarity #Act #Wins #Floor #Slot #September #Votes #Doubt1786376495
