Ripple CTO emeritus David Schwartz has attributed the U.S. Senate’s failure to advance the CLARITY Act to pressure from traditional banks defending their profit margins. The Senate rejected cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633 by a 49-50 vote on September 15, falling short of the 60 votes needed.
Responding on X to Senator Josh Hawley’s concerns about community-bank deposits, Schwartz said: ‘It’s about protecting bank profits.’ Hawley has argued that yield-bearing stablecoins could pull deposits away from community banks and weaken lending to farmers and small businesses. Schwartz disputed that premise, saying he did not expect the bill to materially reduce banks’ lending capacity.
The legislation remains stalled rather than permanently defeated, and the Senate record leaves open the possibility of further procedural action. Lawmakers now face unresolved disputes over stablecoin yields, banking concerns, and other provisions before another attempt to advance the broader digital-asset market structure bill.