Schwab backs CLARITY Act as Senate and White House clash on timing

Charles Schwab, which manages about $13 trillion in client assets, called the CLARITY Act “a really important fundamental catalyst” and said it “needs to pass.” The endorsement comes as Senate leaders and the White House offer different timelines for a full Senate vote.

Schwab launched a retail crypto service this year, allowing clients to buy bitcoin and ether for 75 basis points per trade. The rollout has progressed in stages from employees to waitlisted clients and then to eligible accounts across 48 states, giving the firm a direct interest in how lawmakers write rules for digital assets.

The CLARITY Act would divide oversight of digital assets between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The bill passed the Senate Banking Committee on May 14 by a 15-9 vote and is now subject to negotiations over custody, trading and stablecoin rules.

Timing for floor consideration is the main dispute. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters he expects the measure will likely miss the pre-recess window and acknowledged he had targeted the week of July 20 to begin floor work. “I would like to at least get Clarity started. We’ll see where the votes are,” he added.

White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt expressed a different view, describing himself as “slightly more optimistic” about the first week of August, when the Senate will be in session for a short period. Witt has taken an active role in negotiations and postponed Army National Guard training obligations to remain at the White House while talks continued.

Lawmakers remain divided on ethics rules that would restrict senior officials’ personal crypto holdings and on how to treat stablecoin yield and related products. Senator Cynthia Lummis has indicated those provisions are still open to revision to attract Democratic votes.

The White House reported a deal on the ethics question and shared its terms with Senate Republicans on July 20-21. Senate leadership has prioritized a bipartisan package on Russia sanctions and tariffs, which has limited available floor time for CLARITY.

If leaders cannot schedule the bill before the August recess, the next realistic opportunity for a vote would be during a three-week Senate session in September. Major financial firms’ public support and continued White House engagement have coincided with ongoing negotiations among senators over policy details and timing.