The crypto regulation standoff over the CLARITY Act shifted Monday when White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt told an interviewer that negotiations have cleared most remaining obstacles and that he is confident the final issues can be resolved, saying “we’re very close to closing them out.”
Summary
- Witt said the stablecoin yield dispute that dominated headlines for three months is largely settled under the Tillis-Alsobrooks framework, and that several other issues including DeFi rules and ethics provisions have made “considerable progress in the background.”
- The White House adviser would not specify which remaining issues have been closed, but said the fact that previously intractable problems were resolved gives him confidence that the outstanding ones will be too.
- Senator Thom Tillis is expected to release an updated stablecoin yield compromise draft this week, which could unlock a Senate Banking Committee markup before the end of April and a floor vote by late May.
The Witt interview aired Monday on CoinDesk TV as the Senate returned from Easter recess and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse publicly projected the bill would pass by end of May. Witt acknowledged that the common ground secured by Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks on stablecoin yield “seems to be intact,” a notable signal given that Coinbase reversed its opposition to the bill earlier this month. The CLARITY Act cleared the House in July 2025 by a 294 to 134 vote and the Senate Agriculture Committee in January 2026, leaving only the Senate Banking Committee markup as the final major procedural step before the Senate floor.
The White House adviser’s language was deliberate. He said the negotiations made “considerable progress in the background” while the public focus was on the stablecoin yield fight, suggesting that DeFi rules and Democratic ethics demands are closer to resolution than the public record indicates. He also said that “all of these issues felt intractable and unsolvable at one point in time,” using past tense, which implies most of those previously intractable issues are now resolved.
What Still Needs to Happen Before a Vote
The Banking Committee needs a markup date from Chairman Tim Scott, who has not announced one. After the committee vote, the Banking and Agriculture Committee versions must be reconciled, then the combined Senate text must be reconciled with the House version, and then the bill requires a presidential signature. That is four sequential steps after the markup, each of which is a potential delay point.
Why the White House Is Pushing Now
The Iran war, the midterm calendar, and the TRUMP memecoin investigation are all converging in the same April window. The White House needs a crypto legislative win before the midterms arrive and Democratic incentives to cooperate disappear. As the markup window opens this week, the White House position is that the deal is done enough to vote. Whether Banking Committee members agree is the question that will define the next two weeks.
