What happened
Speaking to reporters in Washington on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration is pushing Congress to clear the Crypto CLARITY Act before the August recess, per CryptoNews. He framed the bill as the centerpiece of the administration's digital-asset agenda and said passage by summer was 'the goal we're working toward.'
On the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, established by executive order in early 2025, Bessent said accumulation would continue at a 'deliberate speed.' He did not disclose a target balance, a buying cadence, or a budget envelope. He pushed back on calls for a faster build, arguing the Treasury would not chase price.
Bessent's remarks are the first time a Treasury Secretary has publicly committed to a legislative timeline on CLARITY. The bill cleared the House in 2025 but stalled in the Senate, where it now sits with the Banking and Agriculture committees.
Why it matters
CLARITY rewrites the jurisdictional map. Tokens that meet the bill's 'digital commodity' test move out of SEC reach and into CFTC oversight, which is the outcome exchanges, market makers, and most of the industry have lobbied for since the 2022 collapse cycle.
The 'deliberate speed' language on the reserve cuts both ways. Bitcoin maximalists wanted a hard schedule, something closer to the gold-buying mandates of the 1930s. They didn't get it. Bessent's phrasing keeps the Treasury's hands free to buy on weakness, sit out strength, or pause entirely if conditions warrant. That's a less aggressive read than the market priced in when the reserve was first announced.