CLARITY Act Stays Stalled, Leaving U.S. Crypto Market-Structure Rules Unresolved

The CLARITY Act remains stalled in the Senate, leaving the next Congress with an unresolved question over federal rules for crypto markets. The House passed the measure in 2025, but a Senate procedural vote did not clear the threshold needed to advance it.

On Sept. 15, the Senate considered cloture on a motion to proceed to H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act of 2025. The motion received 49 votes in favor and 50 against, while one senator did not vote. It needed 60 votes to meet the cloture threshold.

That vote was not a vote on final passage of the bill. The House approved it 294-134 on July 17, 2025. The bill would establish a framework for digital commodities, generally assign the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversight of those transactions, preserve Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) jurisdiction over certain activity and set requirements for intermediaries.

The measure was referred to the House Financial Services and Agriculture committees and the Senate Banking Committee. The Nov. 3 midterm ballot covered all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats. The next Congress will face the broader market-structure question.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the measure “would provide clear rules of the road while encouraging innovation to happen right here in America.” Sen. Mark Warner, who voted against cloture, said, “But we cannot pass landmark legislation governing this industry while allowing the President of the United States to personally profit from it.”

Congress has enacted a separate federal law covering payment stablecoins. President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act on July 18, 2025, leaving broader market-structure rules as a distinct legislative issue.