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Speaking at The Bitcoin Conference U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis opened her keynote by recalling her first encounter with Bitcoin, describing it as an unfamiliar concept of owning an asset that exists on a blockchain, before purchasing three tokens at roughly $300 each.

Lummis told the audience that Bitcoin first struck her as “free money” because it removes the need to trust a third party to hold or move value. 

She linked that realization back to her early purchases of three bitcoin at about $300 each, when the idea of owning an asset that lives on a blockchain still felt strange.

Lummis referenced periods of war, noting that bitcoin often serves as a refuge from poor monetary policy and disrupted financial systems. 

Lummis said there are women who have been able to leave dysfunctional marriages and walk away with Bitcoin as an asset that is uniquely theirs, underscoring the role of self-custodied money in personal freedom.

“Bitcoin comes with a culture that could’ve written the U.S. Declaration of Independence that we celebrate today. This is freedom money. That all people are created equal, and that this asset guarantees it,” Lummis said. 

Lummis closed by promising imminent action in Washington, saying the Senate “will mark up the Clarity Act in May” and that lawmakers are going to pass digital asset legislation.

Lummis has been very vocal about the struggles around passing crypto legislation popularly known as the Clarity Act. 

What’s happening with the Clarity Act? 

The Clarity Act has inched forward but remains stuck in Washington’s procedural grind, with its fate tied to a narrow legislative window in 2026.

The bill, a comprehensive market structure framework for digital assets, cleared the House more than eight months ago and has waited in the Senate Banking Committee as senators haggle over issues such as stablecoin yields and agency jurisdiction. 

A January markup was pulled at the last minute, signaling early resistance and forcing drafters to rework language before bringing it back. Since then, industry groups have pressed Senate leaders to move, warning that each delay adds regulatory uncertainty and pushes activity offshore.

In April, committee dynamics shifted again when Senator Thom Tillis urged Chair Tim Scott to delay a markup into May to allow more time to sell the compromise to traditional banking stakeholders. 

Reporting from policy shops and crypto lobbyists now points to the second week of May as the first realistic slot for a Banking Committee vote, following the current Senate recess. 

If the markup slips past mid?May, the odds of enactment this year drop sharply because floor time tightens ahead of summer recess and the 2026 midterm cycle.

If the bill does advance, the path would likely run through a committee markup in early or mid?May, a full Senate vote in May or June, and potential reconciliation before a signing window that market observers place around June. 

Supporters frame the Clarity Act as the companion to the GENIUS Act, handing the CFTC primary jurisdiction over most non?stablecoin digital assets while narrowing the SEC’s reach to tokenized securities.

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