Prospects for processing the CLARITY bill, which sets the U.S. regulatory framework for digital assets, have risen again for being delayed ahead of a congressional recess.

Bitcoin Magazine reported on Sunday local time that Congress appears to be prioritising other legislation before a five-week recess that begins later this week. That has prompted views that a vote on the cryptocurrency bill that markets have been expecting could be pushed back.

The bill passed the House on a bipartisan basis last year, but deadlock has persisted this year. If passed, it would lay the groundwork for clearly setting out U.S. digital asset regulation in law. Recently, ethical issues and political burdens have been more prominently highlighted than the bill itself in and around the Senate.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren (엘리자베스 워런) said a growing view in the Senate is to reassess cryptocurrency's influence on elections. Warren said more senators have begun to doubt that the crypto industry's electoral advantage is absolute. By contrast, pro-crypto Republicans including Senator Cynthia Lummis (신시아 루미스) criticised Democrats for intentionally delaying the bill's progress.

The point of contention is ethics provisions. A new draft began circulating from July and includes language that would bar government officials and their families from issuing or promoting cryptocurrencies. This is read as an adjustment mindful of controversy over President Donald Trump's and his family's business interests. Some lawmakers view the Trump family's profits from meme coins and the decentralised finance protocol World Liberty Financial as a conflict-of-interest issue.

Warren argued the current bill would allow criminals and cartels to move funds and could make Trump wealthier. The draft bill also includes provisions banning government promotion of cryptocurrencies. Against this backdrop, bipartisan negotiations appear to be dragging on over how far to revise the bill's wording.

Backlash from the banking sector remains another obstacle. Bank lobbyists have raised the issue of stablecoin interest income, worrying that if crypto exchanges offer customers attractive rewards, banks' deposit base could weaken. This has again confirmed that a digital asset regulatory bill is not simply about fostering an industry, but also intertwined with the funding structure of the established financial sector.

Support for the bill has not weakened across the board. Large Wall Street financial firms such as Fidelity and Goldman Sachs, along with law enforcement agencies, support the bill in its current form. Industry voices have also stressed the sustainability of continued negotiations. Kristin Smith (크리스틴 스미스), president of the Solana Institute and former chief executive of the Blockchain Association, wrote on X on Monday that Republican Senator Thom Tillis and Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego are working together on new ethics-related language, adding that bipartisan work continues.

Coinbase also maintained a relatively optimistic stance through last week. Faryar Shirzad (파랴르 시르자드), Coinbase's chief policy officer, said Democrats and Republicans have worked hard together to draft the bill. Backers of the bill do share common ground that regulatory clarity is needed in the U.S. market, but it remains unclear whether a vote will be scheduled before the recess.

Market focus has therefore narrowed to 2 points: whether the bill can reach an actual vote before the recess, and whether strengthened ethics provisions can ease Democratic opposition. For now, bipartisan talks continue, but with the congressional calendar and political burdens overlapping, the likelihood has grown that full consideration of the "crypto clarity bill" will again be pushed back.