Bitcoin jumped to $81,000 immediately after the U.S. Senate Banking Committee approved the CLARITY bill.

Cryptopolitan, a blockchain media outlet, reported on May 14 that the committee passed the bill 15 to 9. The vote largely followed party lines, but Democratic Senators Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks voted in favor alongside all Republicans.

The bill must next pass the House. If the Senate and House then agree on a final unified version, it will go to U.S. President Donald Trump. The House already passed a different version of the bill last fall.

The bill drew a stronger market reaction because it is directly tied to the regulatory clarity sought by the U.S. crypto industry. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott stressed the need for the legislation, saying the digital asset industry has long faced inconsistent regulation. He said the digital sector has sat in a regulatory grey area for years, leaving developers, businesses and investors to bear legal uncertainty without clear standards.

Regulators also attached significance to the move. CFTC Commissioner Michael Selig said the vote brought the United States closer to becoming the "crypto capital of the world." He said the bill would create a framework to distinguish digital asset securities from commodities, set trading rules and prevent enforcement-driven regulation.

Bipartisan negotiations also continued during the review process. Democratic Senator Mark Warner said he has been in talks with Republicans and described the past few months as "crypto hell." He added he hoped the legislative talks would continue and reach "crypto heaven." His remarks indicated negotiations were rough but did not stop.

The industry broadly supports pushing the bill forward. Coinbase Global, Circle Internet Group and Ripple see regulatory clarity as a way to boost investor confidence. Andreessen Horowitz also supports the bill, and the White House has pushed the legislation while taking part in some discussions between banks and the crypto industry.

Banks, however, are concerned that the bill could allow stablecoin users to receive payments similar to interest. JPMorgan sees such a structure as potentially pulling bank deposits and reducing funding for loans. Crypto industry executives countered the concern, saying the bill would allow rewards only for stablecoins used for payments.

Key disputes remain. Lawmakers said further discussions are needed on how to block crimes that exploit digital assets and what ethics rules to apply to elected officials who profit from cryptocurrencies. Debate has also focused on claims that Trump and his family made billions of dollars through memecoins and World Liberty Financial (WLFI).

Democrats sought to add amendments during the committee review, but all were rejected or not brought forward. Scott said some amendments did not meet formal requirements. Senator Thom Tillis called the committee-passed version a "strong bipartisan compromise" but said more work remains in the coming weeks.

From a market perspective, the vote was a direct catalyst for the price rebound. The bill must still be reconciled with the House text and signed by the president to take final effect. Bitcoin and the broader crypto market are expected to watch how legislative talks address crime-related provisions, ethics rules for public officials and conflicts of interest tied to stablecoins.