Although the CLARITY Act cleared the House with broad bipartisan support, its prospects in the Senate have grown uncertain, reflecting competing priorities and procedural hurdles that could delay or derail final passage. Passage in the House by a 294-134 vote and prior advancement through the Financial Services and Agriculture committees signaled cross-party agreement within that chamber, but the Senate faces different dynamics, as committees including Banking and Agriculture must still vote to advance any measure. The Senate process allows significant amendments and the chamber’s need for 60 votes to invoke cloture heightens the difficulty, particularly given the filibuster and lingering disagreements over jurisdiction and scope. Observers note that the bill’s design, modeled after the earlier FIT21 Act that passed the House but stalled in the Senate, may encounter similar obstacles unless compromise language gains traction.
Lawmakers and regulators confront a complex regulatory framework proposed by the CLARITY Act, which would assign primary oversight of most digital commodity transactions to the CFTC while preserving SEC authority over investment contracts and certain brokers on alternative trading systems. The bill spells out conditions for assets to qualify as tradable digital commodities, such as blockchain maturity and issuer reporting, and it introduces anti-money-laundering requirements by applying the Bank Secrecy Act to exchanges and dealers. Provisional registration paths are included to facilitate interim compliance, and the act would require regulators to promulgate implementing rules within a year if enacted, a timeline that could strain agency resources and provoke legal challenges. Bipartisan majorities recently advanced the bill in House committees, signaling continued legislative momentum. The measure also establishes a federal framework for spot markets and dual-registration that would require coordinated SEC-CFTC rulemaking within a year, raising questions about agency capacity. Meanwhile, similar regulatory developments in other regions such as the UAE’s adoption of stablecoin frameworks showcase evolving global standards that could influence U.S. approaches.
Political fragmentation in the Senate compounds legislative uncertainty, as pro-crypto senators craft alternative bills and the chamber simultaneously advances the GENIUS Act on stablecoins, which already passed with bipartisan support. Committees are expected to consolidate multiple market-structure proposals into a unified framework, but differences within the Senate Banking Committee over regulatory boundaries and coordination with other agencies persist. Given these factors, and the uncertain executive posture regarding signature before year-end, the CLARITY Act’s pathway remains contested and likely prolonged, with significant policy and implementation implications if it ultimately proceeds.
