The U.S. Senate has only 36 legislative days left this year to handle the Clarity bill, a crypto market structure measure, after the summer recess, sharply narrowing the window for legislation.

On Aug. 11, blockchain outlet Cointelegraph reported that the Senate is expected to move to a cloture vote on the bill after returning in September, but several hurdles remain before a floor vote and final passage.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune submitted a cloture motion to bring the Clarity bill to the floor shortly before the recess. The Senate returns on Sept. 14, but has only 14 scheduled legislative days before the pre-election recess in November. Only 22 legislative days remain through year-end after that. Time available to process the bill is limited to 36 days.

Key issues also remain unresolved. They include an ethics provision addressing U.S. President Donald Trump's digital asset-related issues and additional restrictions on crypto companies that provide stablecoin rewards. The industry has publicly maintained optimism about the bill's chances, but the Senate has yet to produce an agreement on those provisions.

The bill cleared the House last year and has been pending in the Senate for 13 months. During that time, the Senate faced at least one government shutdown threat and also confronted industry backlash and opposition from Democrats. Some Democrats have argued the bill at the time could enable Trump's "crypto corruption."

Even if a cloture vote takes place in September, the schedule is tight. Senators would have only a few days after the vote to revise issues in the bill before floor action. In addition, the November midterm elections will put 33 Senate seats and all 435 House seats up for election, and the results could become a variable in subsequent legislative negotiations. Some lawmakers could also still leave Congress in 2027.

In this situation, market attention is shifting not only to Congress but also to regulators. The Clarity bill includes provisions granting the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission authority to oversee and enforce rules on digital assets, but with the bill still not processed, both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the CFTC have indicated they could take direct action if Congress does not move.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins said in a July interview, "Even if Congress fails to pass the Clarity bill, we are ready to put out crypto-related regulations," adding, "We have enough preparation, will and capability." CFTC Chair Michael Selik also said in April about oversight of the crypto market, "The CFTC is ready to take responsibility for supervising the crypto market." He made the remark on the premise that the Clarity bill would pass.

The SEC and the CFTC are already taking steps to coordinate oversight of financial markets. As a result, whether the Clarity bill is processed this year is expected to become a turning point not only for the direction of U.S. crypto market structure legislation but also for determining whether congressional legislation or regulator rulemaking sets market standards first.