Coinbase: Senate Banking Committee may mark up CLARITY bill

At the Consensus 2026 conference in Miami, Kara Calvert, Coinbase’s vice president for U.S. policy, told attendees she expects the Senate Banking Committee to mark up the CLARITY crypto market-structure bill as soon as next week.

Calvert noted the measure will need at least 60 votes in the full Senate to advance and that bipartisan backing is required. She told the audience, “That means you need Democrats. You need a bipartisan bill, and we have all been working really hard to make sure that bipartisanship holds. I think the big question is, how do these votes shape up over the next few days?”

The CLARITY Act seeks to create clearer federal rules for digital assets. The bill stalled in January after Coinbase withdrew support, citing the lack of legal protections for open-source software developers, a prohibition on stablecoin yield, and provisions affecting decentralized finance.

Calvert said Coinbase is watching whether negotiators can address those concerns before committee action.

Tax policy emerged as a separate obstacle to broader institutional adoption of crypto, Calvert said. She pointed to current reporting rules that require exchanges to issue 1099-DA forms for many transactions, including very small transfers, and described the paperwork burden on institutions. “We’re sending out millions of 1099-DA’s for things like $1 transactions — that makes zero sense,” she said.

Calvert cited a HarrisX survey that found 70% of voters believe the U.S. should have already passed federal cryptocurrency legislation and 62% say it is important for the U.S. to set global rules for digital finance. The poll showed bipartisan support for passage of the CLARITY Act.

She expressed hope that separate tax reform measures will progress in Congress in 2026 and referenced the Digital Asset PARITY Act, introduced by Representatives Max Miller and Steven Horsford in March. Calvert predicted legislative activity in both chambers in the coming months.

Any committee markup will depend on ongoing negotiations and whether sponsors can hold together a coalition large enough to advance the bill. If the committee approves the measure, it would still need to clear the full Senate with the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster.