The U.S. Senate returned from its Easter recess today, April 13, opening the most consequential legislative window yet for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. The Senate Banking Committee is targeting a markup in the final two weeks of April. If the bill does not clear committee before May, lawmakers say digital asset legislation will not pass until after the November 2026 midterms.
The CLARITY Act is a digital asset market structure bill that would define which cryptocurrencies fall under SEC oversight as securities and which fall under CFTC oversight as commodities, creating the first permanent registration framework for crypto exchanges, custody standards, and DeFi safe harbors in U.S. law.
- The Senate returned April 13, opening the Banking Committee’s late-April markup window for the CLARITY Act.
- Treasury Secretary Bessent, SEC Chair Atkins, CFTC Chair Selig, and former crypto czar David Sacks all endorsed the bill on April 9.
- Senator Bernie Moreno warned: if the bill does not pass by May, crypto legislation will stall until after the midterms.
- Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong reversed his opposition on April 9, removing the last major industry holdout.
Published: April 13, 2026, 12:00 PM ET
Four officials coordinated a push before the Senate returned
On April 9, four days before the Senate reconvened, a coordinated wave of official support landed on the same day. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent published a Wall Street Journal op-ed calling on the Senate Banking Committee to hold a markup immediately, writing: “Senate time is precious, and now is the time to act.” Hours later, SEC Chair Paul Atkins responded publicly, stating that “Project Crypto is designed so once Congress acts, the SEC and CFTC are ready to implement the CLARITY Act.” CFTC Chair Michael Selig and former White House crypto czar David Sacks added their endorsements the same afternoon.
The same day, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly reversed course and backed the bill, his second reversal after blocking it twice earlier in 2026 over stablecoin yield provisions. Armstrong’s shift removes the last major industry holdout. For the first time this year, the CLARITY Act has unified backing from the administration, regulators, and the largest U.S. crypto exchange.
The bill cleared the House in July 2025 with bipartisan support, 294–134. The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its portion in January 2026. The Senate Banking Committee, which controls the market structure and stablecoin provisions, has postponed its markup twice: once in December over yield disputes, and again in March. The Coinbase standoff earlier this year cost the bill weeks of momentum.
What the bill would do if it passes
The CLARITY Act would convert the SEC and CFTC’s March 17 interpretive release into statute. That release named Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP as digital commodities, not securities, alongside 13 other assets. As guidance, those classifications can be reversed by a future administration. As law, they cannot.
For crypto businesses, the bill would open formal registration pathways for trading platforms under CFTC oversight, establish custody standards, and create a DeFi safe harbor that shields protocol developers from securities liability if they meet certain decentralization criteria. Stablecoin issuers would face a compromise framework: passive yield on stablecoin balances would be prohibited, while activity-based rewards tied to payments and platform use would remain permitted. That deal was brokered by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks in March.
For institutional investors, passage would resolve the jurisdictional ambiguity that has kept several asset managers from expanding their crypto product lines. The SEC’s ongoing proceedings on multi-crypto ETF products, including Grayscale’s GDLC fund, hinge partly on the commodity versus security classification the CLARITY Act would codify.
What could still block it
The bill carries unresolved disputes into the markup window. Banks remain opposed to any stablecoin framework that could pull deposits away from the insured banking system. Senate Democrats are pushing for ethics language that would bar government officials and their families from profiting from crypto: language targeting Trump family holdings. DeFi oversight provisions and tokenization treatment within the bill still lack bipartisan consensus.
Senator Cynthia Lummis confirmed a late-April markup target but noted that Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott controls the final calendar, and no date has been set. Lummis said the stablecoin yield text must hold before Scott will schedule the vote. The SEC holds an options market structure roundtable on April 16, staffed by the same commissioners driving the CLARITY Act’s implementation agenda, which may signal additional regulatory momentum heading into the markup.
The May deadline is not procedural. Senator Bernie Moreno stated it plainly: “If we don’t get the Clarity Act passed by May, digital asset legislation will not pass for the foreseeable future.” With Senate schedules dominated by midterm politics after May, the next three weeks represent the bill’s best, and possibly only, chance to become law in this Congress.
Frequently asked questions
What is the CLARITY Act?
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (H.R.3633) is a U.S. bill that would determine which cryptocurrencies fall under SEC securities law and which fall under CFTC commodity regulation. It would also create registration pathways for crypto exchanges, set custody standards, and create a legal safe harbor for DeFi protocols that meet decentralization criteria.
Why does the May deadline matter for crypto?
Senate lawmakers say midterm campaign schedules make major legislation practically impossible after May. If the CLARITY Act misses a Senate Banking Committee markup this month, it will likely not reach the floor until after the November 2026 elections, a delay of at least six months, leaving the SEC and CFTC’s March guidance vulnerable to reversal by a future administration.
What is the stablecoin yield dispute about?
The bill’s most contested provision bans passive interest payments on stablecoins, a feature Coinbase and other platforms had used to attract users, while permitting rewards tied to active platform use. Banks support the ban; crypto firms objected until Coinbase reversed course on April 9, accepting the compromise language brokered by Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks.
