Washington’s long-promised rewrite of US crypto market rules is slipping again, with Senate action on the Digital Asset Market Structure “CLARITY Act” still not locked in as industry pressure ramps up.
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A coalition of crypto companies and trade groups has urged senators to move forward with a committee markup, arguing that continued delays leave the US without a workable framework for exchanges, brokers, token issuers and intermediaries. The letter, dated April 23, framed the moment as a narrowing window for keeping talent and capital onshore.
Industry Pushes For a Markup, Timeline Stays Cloudy
Signatories to the lobbying effort include major US-facing crypto firms alongside dozens of other companies and advocacy groups, according to industry reports. Their message was blunt: get a markup scheduled and begin turning crypto policy principles into statutory language.
But on Capitol Hill, the immediate calendar remains uncertain. Reports in the crypto press suggest senators are split on timing, with some discussion of pushing a markup toward late May rather than moving sooner. That lack of clarity is feeding the familiar problem for the sector: businesses are building around enforcement risk and patchwork state-by-state rules instead of a single federal standard.
Odds of Bill Passage Look Like a Coin Flip, Even In Mid-2026
Even if the Clarity Act advances out of committee, analysts aren’t treating final passage as a straight line. A research note from a major digital-asset firm’s research desk put the chance of the CLARITY Act becoming law in 2026 at roughly 50-50, cautioning that the true probability could be lower once legislative trade-offs harden.
One sticking point gaining attention is how the bill might handle stablecoin-related features such as yields or rewards, an area where banks and parts of traditional finance are widely seen as wary.
Many market watchers also point to the broader election-cycle incentives: crypto legislation can become a proxy battle over consumer protection, market structure and agency turf rather than a narrow tech policy debate.
The significance isn’t just whether one bill passes. The CLARITY Act has become a litmus test for whether the US can produce predictable rules for token listings, trading venues and disclosures—conditions that tend to widen liquidity, reduce headline legal risk, and shape where the next cycle of crypto innovation actually lands.
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