Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told senators on Wednesday that the U.S. is moving forward with a strategic bitcoin reserve while urging Congress to pass major crypto market structure legislation before the summer ends.
Speaking at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the 2027 budget, Bessent pressed lawmakers to get behind the Clarity Act, a bill that would regulate the digital asset industry at the federal level for the first time.
Bessent’s push for the Clarity Act
Bessent framed the legislation as critical to keeping the U.S. competitive globally:
“It’s very necessary to bring U.S. best practices onshore, and we work tirelessly in terms of custodying these assets and making the U.S. the innovation capital of the world.”
A version of the Clarity Act passed the full House last year but has since stalled in the Senate over disputes around stablecoin reward treatment, software developer protections, and conflicts of interest tied to President Trump’s crypto ventures.
Time pressure is mounting as Capitol Hill shifts focus toward budget bills and November midterm elections are expected to consume lawmakers’ attention after the summer recess.
Bitcoin reserve moving forward
President Trump signed an executive order earlier in his term to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve, funded primarily through bitcoin already held by the government via criminal and civil forfeitures, alongside a separate digital asset stockpile.
In April, Patrick Witt, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, said a major announcement on the reserve’s next steps was coming within weeks.
On Wednesday, Bessent acknowledged the complexity of the process but confirmed progress is being made:
“We are proceeding with all deliberate speed, and we are making sure that as we are doing this in this complicated process, we use best practices and things will be durable for the future.”
Legislative timeline tightening
With midterms approaching and the legislative calendar filling up, the window for passing the Clarity Act is narrowing.
Bessent’s comments signal the administration remains committed to both the reserve and broader crypto regulation, even as the Senate works through the bill’s remaining sticking points:
“We want legislation passed this summer.”
