Key Highlights:
- Senator Tim Scott implements a pause on the CLARITY Act bill.
- David Sacks reassures the crypto community that the pause implemented by Tim Scott is procedural and not political.
- Coinbase withdraws support, citing concerns in the current draft.
David Sacks, the White House’s AI and Crypto Czar, had posted on X today, January 15, 2026 and reaffirmed to the crypto community that the CLARITY Act bill is closer to passage. This tweet was posted by the Crypto Czar after a pause was announced by Senator Tim Scott earlier today.
The White House remains committed to working with Chairman Scott, members of the Senate Banking Committee, and industry stakeholders to pass bipartisan crypto market structure legislation as soon as possible.
— David Sacks (@davidsacks47) January 15, 2026
Sen. Tim Scott Introduces a Brief Legislative Pause
Sacks was responding to a post by Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), Chairman of the US Senate Banking Committee, who said that the CLARITY Act bill continues to see strong bipartisan support.
Scott said the market structure framework is the result of months of talks with crypto founders, financial institutions, regulators, and law enforcement. In the tweet, the Senator added that the lawmakers from both parties are still negotiating, describing the pause as a normal part of the legislative process and is not a setback.
This pause has led to a new markup date, which is now scheduled for January 27, 2026, after the updated bill text is released.
I’ve spoken with leaders across the crypto industry, the financial sector, and my Democratic and Republican colleagues, and everyone remains at the table working in good faith.
As we take a brief pause before moving to a markup, this market structure bill reflects months of…
— Senator Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 15, 2026
With this post, the remark by Sacks indicates that there is an urgency to set clear rules through implementation of the CLARITY Act so that innovation can move forward without hesitation.
This push for legislation has come after high-profile collapses which includes FTX collapse, which exposed all the gaps that exist in crypto oversight.
Pause Meant to Resolve Remaining Issues
Along with Scott, David Sacks also made sure that the crypto community knows that this pause does not mean a breakdown. He urged the crypto industry to use this time to resolve remaining issues, calling it the right time to set clear rules and secure the industry’s future.
He later added that the White House remains fully committed to working with lawmakers and industry stakeholders to pass bipartisan crypto market structure legislation as soon as possible.
Passage of market structure legislation remains as close as it’s ever been. The crypto industry should use this pause to resolve any remaining differences. Now is the time to set the rules of the road and secure the future of this industry. https://t.co/8tsmW9T1N4
— David Sacks (@davidsacks47) January 15, 2026
Coinbase Pulls Support Ahead of Senate Markup
Even though Washington has indicated that it is backing the CLARITY Act, part of industry remains divided over the CLARITY Act bill’s current form. In recent turn of events, Coinbase announced that it has withdrawn support for the current draft of the CLARITY Act and stated that the key provisions could be worse than having no legislation at all.
After reviewing the Senate Banking draft text over the last 48hrs, Coinbase unfortunately can’t support the bill as written.
There are too many issues, including:
– A defacto ban on tokenized equities
– DeFi prohibitions, giving the government unlimited access to your financial…— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) January 14, 2026
The move by Coinbase has come right before the Senate Banking Committee’s markup that was scheduled for today, January 15, 2026.
Also Read: Senate Unveils Crucial 278-Page Crypto Bill Ahead of Vote
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