Crypto Lobby Spends $189 Million to Advance CLARITY Act

Fairshake and its affiliates, Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs, are funded by major crypto companies including Coinbase and Ripple Labs. The network is seeking to build a bipartisan bloc in Congress that favors clearer rules for digital assets. Its spending matters because the next Congress will shape the fate and implementation of market-structure legislation, including the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY Act, which would clarify federal oversight of crypto markets.

After Protect Progress spent about $1 million backing incumbent Democratic Representative Shri Thanedar in Michigan, Thanedar lost the Aug. 4 primary. Fairshake and its allied groups have now shifted to congressional contests in Florida, Alaska and Wyoming, committing more than $1.5 million to advertising ahead of all three states’ Aug. 18 primaries. The buys largely support bipartisan House and Senate candidates who previously voted for the CLARITY Act, underscoring the industry’s effort to reward lawmakers aligned with its regulatory agenda.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is intended to establish a federal market structure for a US cryptocurrency industry valued at more than $2 trillion, bringing digital assets firmly within the regulated financial system. The bill remains stalled in the Senate, where lawmakers are divided over ethics restrictions on senior government officials’ crypto activity. Banks also oppose stablecoin rewards that resemble interest on deposits, warning they could pull money from the banking system.

CoinDesk reported on Aug. 4 that Crypto Watchdog, formed only weeks earlier, was saturating Washington television and social media with ads linking digital assets to terrorists, drug cartels and scams targeting seniors. Executive Director Chapin Fay declined to identify the group’s funders, despite portraying its mission as promoting transparency. A June survey of 1,000 voters commissioned by the group found 65% had a high level of distrust toward crypto. Senators face an Aug. 7 recess deadline and need at least 60 votes to advance the bill.

The US Congress is considering the CLARITY Act, which seeks to clarify regulatory responsibilities for digital assets and trading platforms and reduce legal uncertainty for crypto companies. Senator Cynthia Lummis says clear rules are critical to bringing businesses back to the United States and preserving the country’s leadership in financial technology.

Lummis warned that this week could be the United States’ last critical opportunity to advance the CLARITY Act before 2030. She said China could otherwise write the rules for a new financial era. Negotiations have continued since the Senate returned, but Democrats and Republicans remain divided over provisions covering lawmakers’ ethics and safeguards against bad actors. A vote on crypto market structure could take place as early as August.

The U.S. Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY Act, aims to delineate the regulatory authority of the SEC and CFTC and establish rules for blockchain networks, tokens and trading platforms. The House passed the bill by a vote of 294–134 in July 2025, seeking to reduce regulatory uncertainty and the risk of the industry moving offshore.

The Senate Banking Committee advanced a related bipartisan version on May 14, 2026. It must next be reconciled with the Agriculture Committee’s version before going to the full Senate for a vote. Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z crypto subsequently said clear rules could foster domestic innovation and preserve the dollar’s position. At the time, the U.S. Dollar Index stood at 99.27, up 1.28% over the previous 30 days.

The CLARITY Act seeks to establish a US crypto-asset market structure framework and clarify the division of regulatory authority between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. If the bill reaches the full Senate, it would typically need at least 60 votes to advance, making bipartisan cooperation critical to its prospects of becoming federal law. Current polling shows that most voters support clear cryptocurrency rules.

Coinbase Vice President of Policy Kara Calvert said at Consensus 2026 that the Senate Banking Committee could take up the bill as early as the following week. The committee subsequently scheduled a markup for May 14 and voted to advance the CLARITY Act. The bill must still clear a full Senate vote, while lawmakers' dispute over crypto-asset ethics rules for government officials could affect the final timetable and bipartisan support.