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CLARITY Act: crypto market-structure bill (not yet law)
Passed House July 2025; stalled in Senate Sept 2026· Law or rule
Fact, law or dataA rule, statute, definition or measured number.
A House-passed bill to split crypto oversight between the SEC and CFTC; it failed a Senate procedural vote in September 2026.
See it on the Money & Finance map →How it works
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act passed the House 294–134 on July 17, 2025. It sorts tokens into 'digital commodities', whose spot trading the CFTC would oversee, and investment-contract assets tied to fundraising, which stay with the SEC. Crypto exchanges, brokers and dealers would register with the CFTC. Senate committees reworked it, including a May 2026 compromise on stablecoin rewards. On September 15, 2026, a motion to take it up failed 49–50, short of the 60 votes needed.
Why it matters
It would decide which agency polices crypto trading, and whether exchanges may pay interest-like rewards on stablecoins, a direct contest with bank deposits.
Facts, rules and data
House and Senate roll-call records, committee texts, and coverage of the September 15, 2026 vote, where ethics rules and stablecoin rewards were the main disputes.
Debates and risks
Whether a second Senate vote comes in 2026, and whether the much smaller CFTC could police spot crypto markets well.
Connections (3)
▸CLARITY Act: crypto market-structure bill (not yet law) would narrow crypto oversight by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)Fact, law or data
The connection
Under Chair Gary Gensler, the SEC argued most tokens were securities and sued major exchanges. The bill would limit the SEC to fundraising by token projects, with disclosure rules, while tokens on mature, decentralized networks become 'digital commodities' outside its reach.
When and why
House passage July 17, 2025; by then the SEC, under acting chair Mark Uyeda and then Chair Paul Atkins, had dropped most crypto exchange cases.
How we know
The bill text and SEC enforcement records, including its February 2025 dismissal of the Coinbase case.
Debates and risks
Where the line between a security token and a commodity token falls, which courts and agencies may keep fighting over.
▸CLARITY Act: crypto market-structure bill (not yet law) would hand spot crypto markets to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)Fact, law or data
The connection
The bill would give the CFTC, which already polices futures, exclusive power over spot trading in digital commodities such as bitcoin. Crypto exchanges, brokers and dealers would register with it and follow rules on customer funds, conflicts of interest and disclosure.
When and why
Written in the House in 2025; the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC, drafted its own version.
How we know
The bill text and committee records.
Debates and risks
Whether the CFTC, a fraction of the SEC's size, can get the money and staff for this new job.
▸CLARITY Act: crypto market-structure bill (not yet law) stalled partly over yield on Stablecoins: crypto tokens pegged to a currencyFact, law or data
The connection
The GENIUS Act bars issuers from paying interest, but exchanges like Coinbase pay 'rewards' on stablecoin balances. Banks fear deposit flight and want that closed. A May 2026 Senate compromise banned yield on idle balances but allowed activity-based rewards; bank groups still objected, and the issue helped sink the September 15 vote.
When and why
Senate negotiations from January to September 2026 among banks, Coinbase and senators including Thom Tillis.
How we know
Senators' statements, including Josh Hawley's and Jerry Moran's after the 49–50 vote, and the compromise text.
Debates and risks
Whether a new deal satisfies banks, and how rewards 'tied to activity' can be told apart from interest.