A coalition of more than 120 crypto and blockchain organizations sent a formal letter to the Senate Banking Committee on April 23, 2026, demanding a markup hearing for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act — known as the CLARITY Act. The push represents the broadest coordinated industry pressure on the Senate yet over a bill that cleared the House in 2025 but has stalled for months without a committee vote scheduled.
The CLARITY Act is a proposed federal law that would establish which digital assets fall under SEC jurisdiction and which fall under CFTC oversight, replacing years of regulatory ambiguity that has left many crypto businesses operating in legal gray zones.
Key Takeaways
- 120+ crypto firms including Coinbase, Ripple, and Circle signed a letter to the Senate Banking Committee on April 23 demanding a CLARITY Act markup.
- The bill passed the House in 2025 with bipartisan support but has stalled in the Senate, with no markup hearing yet scheduled.
- The coalition warned that delays risk pushing crypto investment and development offshore, citing the EU’s MiCA framework and regulatory regimes in the UAE and Singapore.
- A separate dispute over stablecoin interest payments is partly to blame for the delay and may be split from the broader market structure bill.
Published: April 24, 2026 UTC
Why the letter went out now
The bill cleared the House of Representatives in 2025 with bipartisan support but has since stalled in the Senate Banking Committee amid disagreements between traditional financial institutions and crypto firms. Senate leadership has yet to schedule a markup, and the 119th Congress ends in January 2027 — leaving a shrinking legislative window.
The letter was coordinated by the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association. Signatories include Coinbase, Ripple, Circle, and more than 115 other firms and trade groups. It asks committee chair and ranking members to schedule a markup before the Senate’s summer recess.
The coalition’s warning is direct: continued Senate inaction risks pushing investment, jobs, and technological development to jurisdictions that already have established frameworks — particularly the EU, which enacted its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation in 2024, and financial hubs like the UAE and Singapore.
What the CLARITY Act would do
The bill’s core mechanism is a digital asset classification test. Assets would be sorted into five categories: digital commodities (regulated by the CFTC), digital securities (regulated by the SEC), digital collectibles (not subject to either agency), digital tools (functional tokens with lighter regulatory treatment), and stablecoins (covered under separate stablecoin legislation moving in parallel).
A smart contract is a self-executing program stored on a blockchain that automatically carries out agreed-upon terms without requiring a third party — the bill’s protections for non-custodial developers address growing concerns that developers of such contracts face enforcement risk for code they do not control.
The coalition’s stated priorities: firm registration pathways for crypto exchanges and brokers, federal preemption to prevent a patchwork of 50 different state rules, simplified disclosure requirements versus traditional securities standards, and explicit protections for non-custodial software developers from SEC and CFTC enforcement overreach.
The stablecoin dispute holding things up
One concrete reason the CLARITY Act has lagged is a linked fight over stablecoin interest payments. Major banks have lobbied against provisions that would allow stablecoin issuers to pay yield to holders, arguing it constitutes deposit-taking without FDIC insurance backstop. Crypto firms counter that yield-bearing stablecoins are closer to money market funds and should not be treated the same as bank deposits.
Senate aides have told reporters that the stablecoin question may be separated from the broader market structure bill, which could clear a path for the CLARITY Act to advance as a standalone package. If that happens, it would need to pass committee, clear the full Senate floor, reconcile with the House version, and reach the president’s desk — all before Congress adjourns.
What comes next
The Senate Banking Committee has not publicly responded to the April 23 letter. Industry observers expect a response or hearing announcement by early May. Without Senate action before the August recess, the bill faces a compressed fall timeline and could expire if not passed before the 119th Congress ends in January 2027.
The current administration has signaled support for digital-asset legislation, removing the veto threat that hung over earlier versions of the bill during the prior administration. That shift gives the coalition reason to press now rather than wait for a new Congress.
Frequently asked questions
What is the CLARITY Act?
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is a proposed U.S. federal law that would establish clear rules for which digital assets are regulated by the SEC and which by the CFTC. It passed the House in 2025 and is currently awaiting Senate action. The goal is to replace the current patchwork of agency enforcement with a structured classification system and defined registration pathways for crypto businesses.
Why does the Senate delay matter for crypto?
Without federal legislation, crypto businesses in the U.S. face overlapping and often conflicting regulatory signals from the SEC, CFTC, and state regulators. The delay creates legal uncertainty that pushes some companies to incorporate in friendlier jurisdictions. The EU’s MiCA framework, fully in force since 2024, gives European-based firms a clear operating environment that U.S. firms currently lack.
Who signed the letter to the Senate?
More than 120 organizations signed the April 23 letter, including major exchanges and issuers such as Coinbase, Ripple, and Circle, alongside trade groups like the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association. The breadth of signatories — covering exchanges, custodians, developers, and investors — reflects how widely the lack of market structure legislation affects the industry.
