The CLARITY Act nearly died Thursday morning. Negotiations between Republicans and Democrats collapsed Wednesday night after talks stalled over changes to the BRCA, which protects noncustodial software developers from money transmitter prosecution. Thursday morning, the five pro-crypto Democrats met in Warner's office to strategize. "Members were still hashing it out as late as 10:29 a.m." The hearing started at 10:30. The deal came together in the ante room right after Warren's opening statement. Senators Tillis, Lummis, Alsobrooks, and Gallego struck a last-minute compromise while GOP aides handwrote draft amendments and rushed printed materials to members in real time. One staffer called it "chaotic and unprecedented." The compromise removed BRCA-referencing language from Section 301, which DeFi advocates say could weaken developer protections. Other revisions authorized banks to engage in digital asset activities, banned insider trading on ancillary assets, and preserved state consumer protection laws. The bill passed 15-9. Both Democratic yes votes made clear their support doesn't carry to the floor. Gallego: "My vote here does not guarantee a vote on the floor." The bill now gets merged with the Senate Agriculture Committee text before a full Senate vote.

.@KGBULLANDBEAR goes through the macro data released Thursday morning and the picture they paint on the inflationary front: April retail sales and March business inventories. For more market news, tune in at:

SF Fed President Mary Daly is giving a speech tonight (Thursday morning in Tokyo) laying out a bimodal outlook. She said scenario one had been and remains her base case, but scenario two has really been gaining ground and you should “be thoughtful enough to move it to the front of your desk.” Why didn’t the Fed move in July? She said this isn’t really about fine-tuning. This is about determining whether you’re in a different world, and one that requires a bigger policy adjustment. “We will get more information… and we might have a very different situation” if recent shocks subside.

Chinese President #XiJinping# held a welcome ceremony on Thursday morning outside the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing for U.S. President Donald Trump, who is on a state visit to China. #ChinaUS#

Chinese President #XiJinping# held a welcome ceremony on Thursday morning outside the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing for U.S. President Donald Trump, who is on a state visit to China. #ChinaUS#

#Latest# Chinese President Xi Jinping held a welcome ceremony on Thursday morning outside the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing for U.S. President Donald Trump, who is on a state visit to China.

A commercial passenger plane will take off from the US to Venezuela on Thursday morning for the first time in nearly seven years, as the countries continue to restore economic ties following the ouster of Venezuela's strongman leader in January.