'The moment to act is now': Solana Policy Institute urges Senate to move on crypto bill as time dwindles

As the clock ticks on Congress, the Solana Policy Institute is mounting an urgent push for Senate leaders to take up landmark cryptocurrency legislation.

In a letter sent Tuesday night to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the organization argued that "the moment to act is now."

"Passing the Clarity Act would give American builders, institutions, and consumers the certainty they need to compete globally and thrive domestically," said SPI President Kristin Smith and CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine. "A floor vote brings this bill one step closer to the President's desk for signature."

The Senate has until the first week of August to try to get votes on several legislative measures before attention shifts to election season in November, making it more challenging to advance bills. A pair of key Senate committees passed their version of the bill over the past year, and a fresh Republican-led version combining the two was released last week.

 In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Thune laid out his priorities, including funding the government, getting through a package of nominations and potentially the Clarity Act.

"We'll probably have a vote on the Clarity Act, which is the digital assets bill legislation that's in front of the Senate," Thune said. "We'll see if the Democrats give us the votes to get on that."

Ethical issues surrounding President Donald Trump's crypto ventures have been a major point of contention among Democrats, who argue they present major conflicts of interest. Financial disclosures released last month showed that Trump received millions of dollars tied to his family's company World Liberty Financial.

The latest text includes a section on ethics that would block a public official or employee, as well as their spouses, from issuing or sponsoring digital assets. The language also includes a sunset provision of Jan. 20, 2029. A counteroffer has since been sent to the White House to address concerns that the Department of Justice would enforce the provision rather than states, according to Politico.

Another issue that continues to come up is around the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act — which creates a safe harbor for non-custodial developers, clarifying that they are not money transmitters. On Tuesday, groups representing prosecutors sent proposed changes to the Clarity Act to the White House, according to reporting from Politico.

In its letter, SPI said the Clarity Act would protect software developers from "criminal and regulatory overreach."

"These developers need certainty to continue building here in the United States," SPI said.

On Wednesday, the Digital Currency Group also sent a letter to Senate leadership, pressing them to pass the Clarity Act. DCG’s subsidiaries include Grayscale Investments and Foundry, which have launched several crypto ETFs and the latter operates a bitcoin mining pool.

“We respectfully urge you to schedule a floor vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act before the August recess,” DCG said. “American builders, businesses and consumers deserve the certainty this framework provides, and the United States deserves to remain the home of innovation in the digital age.”

Updated at 2:45 p.m. UTC to include more details