CLARITY Act Vote Outcome Will Depend On ‘Politics, Not Policy,’ Says White House Crypto Advisor Patrick Witt

• The Senate Banking Committee is expected to vote Thursday on advancing the crypto market structure bill.
• Patrick Witt said the outcome of Thursday’s Senate Banking Committee vote on the CLARITY Act will depend on “politics, not policy.”
• Bitcoin traded just below $80,000 ahead of the Senate vote, while Solana and Ethereum led declines among major cryptocurrencies.

The White House’s lead crypto advisor, Patrick Witt, said on Thursday that the outcome on the Senate Banking Committee’s half of the CLARITY Act later in the day will depend on “politics, not policy.”

“Whether today’s vote is partisan or bipartisan will depend entirely on politics, not policy,” he wrote in a post on X. “The CLARITY Act is not only good policy, it is necessary policy for the United States to maintain our leadership position in global financial markets.”

He added that today’s vote would also show whether or not the Democrats have “moved on from their war on crypto,” directly calling out the opposition led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MS).

Crypto Market Mixed Ahead Of Senate Vote

The overall cryptocurrency market was trading over on Thursday morning, down 0.7% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin (BTC), however, edged 0.3% higher but remained just below the $80,000 mark. Solana (SOL) and Ethereum (ETH) led losses among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency on Stocktwits continued to trend in ‘neutral’ territory amid ‘normal’ levels of chatter. 

Dogecoin (DOGE), meanwhile, led gains with a 3.3% jump in DOGE’s price over the last 24 hours. Ripple’s XRP was also in the green, with XRP’s price rising 1.4% to trade at around $1.45. Retail sentiment around XRP trended in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day, accompanied by ‘high’ levels of chatter. 

Retail sentiment around Ripple’s stablecoin (RLUSD) rose to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past day. Chatter stayed at ‘high’ levels. 

The Senate Banking Committee’s decision at 10:30 a.m. ET Thursday could determine whether the CLARITY Act advances toward a full Senate vote or faces another prolonged stalemate in Washington. According to a poll on Stocktwits, most retail traders expect the vote to pass but around one-third believe “nothing meaningful” will come of it in 2026. 

“I am proud of the countless hours that my team, Treasury, SEC, CFTC, and Senate Banking staff and members have put into shaping this product,” Witt said. “It often required us to get creative; sometimes, it required us to get uncomfortable. But we did it in the spirit of bipartisanship.”

Read also: Crypto Market Falls Ahead Of High-Stakes CLARITY Act Markup, Bitcoin Falls Below $80K

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