Coinbase official says the CLARITY Act is close to passage, with a few Senate holdouts still blocking final steps

Coinbase’s chief policy officer, Ryan VanGrack, said momentum for the proposed CLARITY Act in Washington is “on the one-yard line,” suggesting the U.S. crypto bill is nearing a point where lawmakers could move it toward final passage. The comment, reported by Yahoo Finance, framed the current phase as a late-stage negotiation rather than an early political fight over whether crypto should be regulated in a more comprehensive way.

VanGrack’s remarks point to three specific areas still described as unresolved. First, he cited ethics-related concerns raised by a small group of lawmakers, referring to “three Democratic holdouts” that have not yet lined up behind the bill. Second, he highlighted what he characterized as outstanding questions around Section 604, a named provision that remains part of the last-mile bargaining. Third, he said stablecoin yield is still a sticking point, which could affect how certain crypto activities are treated under U.S. law if the measure advances.

The CLARITY Act is being discussed as a framework intended to bring parts of the digital-asset market under clearer regulatory boundaries. In VanGrack’s telling, the political process is close to the finish line, but the specific holdouts and the remaining policy issues could still change the bill’s ultimate shape.

The Yahoo Finance report also referenced Sen. Cynthia Lummis, who has been identified in coverage as a key driver of the CLARITY Act push. In the same vein, VanGrack’s message suggested the path forward depends on resolving the remaining questions rather than broadening support from scratch.

Stablecoins are a category of digital assets designed to maintain a stable reference value, often through reserves. “Stablecoin yield,” as referenced in the report, generally refers to returns or profit that participants may seek from lending, staking-like arrangements, or other activities involving stablecoins. If Congress addresses how those yields are regulated, it can affect the compliance posture of exchanges and other intermediaries, as well as investor-facing products.

For Coinbase, which operates a major U.S. crypto trading and custody platform, the stakes of clearer federal rules go beyond high-level policy. The company’s business depends on whether regulators and courts characterize certain crypto services as falling under existing securities and commodities rules or under a new legislative framework with defined categories and responsibilities.

The report did not specify what the Section 604 dispute entails, nor did it outline the exact language lawmakers are arguing over. It also did not provide details about what the holdouts’ ethics concerns would require to change, or how the bill’s treatment of stablecoin yield would work in practice if amended. Those specifics matter because late-stage changes could still alter which activities qualify for certain protections or exemptions.

What to watch next, based on VanGrack’s comments, is whether the remaining concerns are resolved quickly enough to let the CLARITY Act move forward. If the three holdouts’ issues are addressed, the bill could progress to the next procedural stage. If not, the negotiations could drag longer than market participants may expect, leaving crypto companies in a continued patchwork environment of agency guidance and enforcement risk.