Bessent wants the CLARITY Act passed this summer.

Bessent Pushes Congress to Act Before the Calendar Closes

Treasury Secretary @SecScottBessent used a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday to make his clearest pitch yet for crypto legislation, urging lawmakers to "get behind" the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act and pass it before the summer ends. Appearing before the committee to discuss the administration's fiscal year 2027 budget, Bessent framed federal crypto rules as essential to making the US "the innovation capital of the world."

The timing matters. Budget negotiations and the approach of November midterms are set to dominate the congressional calendar in the months ahead, narrowing the window for standalone legislation. The CLARITY Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee in a 15-9 bipartisan vote in May, a significant step forward after months of stalled negotiations. Lawmakers have spent the past year working to pass the bill, which would regulate the digital asset industry for the first time at the federal level, though it has run into hurdles in the Senate over the treatment of stablecoin rewards, software developer protections, and conflicts of interest tied to President Trump's crypto ventures.

Bessent told the committee it is "very necessary to bring US best practices onshore" and to work toward "making the US the innovation capital of the world." The bill has been championed by major crypto companies including Coinbase, Circle and Ripple, which want clear rules to encourage investor confidence.

Bitcoin Reserve: Moving Forward, but Slowly

Bessent also addressed the status of the strategic $BTC reserve, offering a notably measured update. "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," he said.

That careful language stands in contrast to earlier expectations. Back in early May, White House adviser Patrick Witt, executive director of the President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, told the audience at Consensus Miami 2026 that an announcement on the reserve was coming "in the next few weeks." It is now June, and Bessent is describing the process as complicated rather than imminent.

The reserve was established by executive order on March 6, 2025, with the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve funded by Treasury's forfeited bitcoin. The federal government currently holds roughly 328,372 $BTC, worth around $25 billion at current prices, making the United States the largest known sovereign holder of Bitcoin. However, that position rests on a legal foundation that any future president could erase with a single signature, without congressional codification.

Taken together, Bessent's remarks signal that the administration remains committed to both the reserve and broader crypto regulation, but the pace of delivery continues to lag behind the rhetoric.

Sources:
Bitcoin Magazine: Scott Bessent Backs Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, Urges Senate To Pass Clarity Act
The Block: Bessent backs summer push for Clarity Act, says bitcoin reserve moving at 'deliberate speed'
CoinDesk: U.S. Bitcoin Reserve update coming in 'next few weeks,' White House adviser says