The cryptocurrency market regained strength this Tuesday (21) as expectations grew for progress on the Clarity Act, a bill that aims to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States. The optimism led Bitcoin to rise more than 2%, approaching the US$ 67 thousand, while investors closely monitor the negotiations in Washington. At the time of publication, BTC was quoted at US$ 66.485,00, up 1,3% in the last 24 hours.
The movement was also reflected in the stock market. Coinbase shares rose as much as 12,6% after the United States Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, stated that Congress is on the "one-yard line" to conclude the processing of the legislation. According to him, lawmakers should approve the text before the legislative recess, reinforcing expectations that the country will finally adopt clearer rules for the cryptocurrency sector.
Despite the optimism, negotiations continue to face a major obstacle: the ethics rules that will be incorporated into the bill.
According to information disclosed by journalist Eleanor Terrett, Democratic Senator Angela Alsobrooks said she considers the White House proposal to leave the Department of Justice solely responsible for enforcing the ethical provisions included in Clarity Act to be "not serious." The lawmaker said she will not support the bill if that is the only mechanism for enforcing the rules.
Alsobrooks explained that she has been working alongside Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis to build a bipartisan agreement on the issue. According to the lawmaker, the proposal currently under discussion would transfer enforcement responsibility to the Department of Justice, instead of allowing state attorneys general to also act in enforcing the law.
The senator noted, however, that negotiations are continuing. "We will keep working from this basis to reach an agreement that holds everyone involved accountable," she said. Alsobrooks' position carries weight in the negotiations, since she was one of only two Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee who voted in favor of advancing Clarity Act in May. Her final support depends on the inclusion of robust governance and ethics mechanisms in the final text.
In a second update published this Tuesday, Eleanor Terrett reported that bipartisan negotiations are still taking place on Capitol Hill, with Democratic and Republican representatives discussing the final adjustments to the proposal.
According to the journalist, in addition to the rules related to decentralized finance (DeFi), the main sticking point continues to be precisely the chapter on ethics. A spokesperson for Senator Cynthia Lummis said that the meeting held last week with White House representatives was positive and that the new text on ethics, expected to be released in the coming days, should reflect the progress achieved in the talks.
The possibility of a consensus between the government and Congress has been interpreted by the market as one of the main catalysts for digital assets this week. Investors believe that the approval of Clarity Act could reduce the regulatory uncertainty that has limited the expansion of the cryptocurrency industry in the United States for years, benefiting exchanges, companies in the sector, and projects linked to decentralized finance. While negotiations continue, the market remains attentive to the next developments, which could define the future of cryptocurrency regulation in the world's largest economy.
