The CLARITY Act is a US bill on how crypto tokens are regulated: which ones the CFTC would oversee, what the SEC keeps, and the “mature blockchain” test in between. Here is what the text says, with dates, the votes so far, and what it would and would not do for an investor.
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It is a bill, not a law: the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, H.R. 3633, would set out which US regulator oversees which crypto tokens and the businesses that trade them. Its core idea is a split. Tokens whose value comes from the use of a blockchain network would be “digital commodities” traded under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would keep oversight of how token projects raise money. The Congressional Research Service summarizes it as giving the CFTC “a central role” over digital commodities while preserving parts of SEC authority over fundraising (CRS Insight IN12583).
It is the second half of a pair. The first half, the GENIUS Act, became law on July 18, 2025 and covers payment stablecoins only (see the GENIUS Act explained). CLARITY covers most other crypto tokens and the exchanges, brokers and dealers around them.
Scope: this page describes what the bill texts say and where the bill stands as of October 26, 2026, from congress.gov records, the bill texts on govinfo and the committees’ own releases. It takes no view on whether the bill should pass and is not legal advice. It does not cover tax, the anti-money-laundering titles in detail or tokenized stocks, which stay securities either way (see tokenized stocks explained).
Stalled on the Senate floor. The official record lists every step; the last one is a failed procedural vote on September 15, 2026, with a motion to reconsider entered, which keeps the vote available to be retaken (govinfo bill status):
| Date | Step | Result |
|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2025 | Introduced in the House; sent to the Financial Services and Agriculture Committees | Referred |
| Jun 10, 2025 | Both House committees mark up and approve amended versions | Ordered reported |
| Jun 23, 2025 | Reported to the House (H. Rept. 119-168, Parts I and II) | On the House calendar |
| Jul 17, 2025 | House vote on passage (Roll no. 199) | Passed 294–134 |
| Sep 18, 2025 | Received in the Senate; sent to the Banking Committee | Referred |
| Jan 29, 2026 | Senate Agriculture Committee advances its own CFTC text, the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act (reported as S. 3755 on Feb 2, 2026) | Separate bill on the calendar |
| May 14, 2026 | Senate Banking Committee markup of H.R. 3633 with a full substitute text | Advanced 15–9 |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Banking substitute reported; placed on the Senate calendar (No. 423) | Awaiting floor |
| Aug 8, 2026 | Motion to proceed made; cloture motion filed | Vote scheduled |
| Sep 15, 2026 | Cloture on the motion to proceed (Record Vote 234) | Not invoked, 49–50 |
| Oct 26, 2026 | No later action recorded | Not law |
The vote counts side by side. Cloture needs three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn, 60 when all 100 seats are filled (Senate Rule XXII). Sources: the House Clerk, the Senate Banking Committee and the bill record.
What happens next is procedural. A bill that is not enacted lapses when a Congress ends; the 119th Congress ends on January 3, 2027, after which any market-structure bill would have to be introduced again and start over in committee. Until both chambers pass the same text and it is signed, none of the provisions below apply.
By activity and by type of token. Under the House-passed text, the SEC regulates how a project sells tokens to raise money, and the CFTC regulates the spot market where digital commodities trade afterward. Securities and payment stablecoins are carved out of the definition of a digital commodity, so they stay where they are today.
| Activity | Regulator under the House text | What the text requires |
|---|---|---|
| Project sells tokens to raise money | SEC | Either a registered offering or a new exemption: up to $50 million per 12 months (CPI-adjusted), disclosure filings, no buyer above 10% of the units (sec. 202) |
| Exchange where digital commodities trade | CFTC | Registration as a digital commodity exchange; trade monitoring, recordkeeping; customer assets segregated and treated as customer property in bankruptcy (Title IV) |
| Broker or dealer in digital commodities | CFTC | Registration, with associated persons registered too; Bank Secrecy Act duties apply |
| SEC-registered broker or trading system trading digital commodities | SEC, with notice to the CFTC | May trade digital commodities that meet listing standards (CRS summary) |
| Insiders selling their tokens | SEC | Held at least 12 months, with sales capped at a share of their tokens per 12 months (sec. 204) |
| Validating, running nodes, publishing code, user interfaces, liquidity pools, self-custody wallets | Excluded from the Act for those activities alone | SEC and CFTC keep anti-fraud and anti-manipulation authority (secs. 309, 409) |
A digital commodity, in the House text, is “a digital asset that is intrinsically linked to a blockchain system, and the value of which is derived from or is reasonably expected to be derived from the use of the blockchain system.” Examples the text gives of “intrinsically linked” include tokens created by the network itself, used to pay for its services or used to vote in its governance (House-passed text).
A mature blockchain system is one “not controlled by any person or group of persons under common control.” The test matters because the fundraising exemption assumes the network is mature or will be within four years. The process, from section 205:
The number moved during the process. The committee-reported version allowed $75 million a year under the exemption, which is the figure the CRS summary describes; the text the House passed says $50 million per 12 months.
A hypothetical project under the House-passed text, assuming a successor bill with identical House provisions were enacted on March 1, 2027. Dates and dollar amounts are illustrations of the arithmetic, not a forecast that the bill will pass.
| Step | Rule in the text | Result |
|---|---|---|
| CFTC title takes effect | Title IV: 270 days after enactment | March 1, 2027 + 270 days = November 26, 2027 |
| SEC token-offering title takes effect | Title II: 360 days after enactment, or 60 days after a needed final rule if later | March 1, 2027 + 360 days = February 24, 2028, at the earliest |
| First raise under the exemption | Up to $50 million in any 12 months | $20 million in month 1: allowed |
| Second raise | Count everything raised in the prior 12 months | $20 million + $25 million = $45 million in month 8: allowed |
| Third raise | Same 12-month window | $45 million + $10 million = $55 million in month 11: above $50 million, not allowed under the exemption |
| Buyer limit | No purchaser above 10% of outstanding units after the sale | A buyer seeking 12% would need a smaller allocation |
| Maturity deadline | Later of 4 years after the first exempt sale or 4 years after the exemption takes effect | Certify maturity to the SEC; it has 60 days to rebut |
The $50 million cap is adjusted each year for consumer prices, so the real limit in a given year can be a little higher. The Senate Banking version uses a different test with different numbers, shown below.
The Senate split the work along committee lines. The Banking Committee rewrote the SEC side as a full substitute for H.R. 3633; the Agriculture Committee wrote the CFTC side as a separate bill. No single combined text has passed a Senate committee or the Senate floor (Banking substitute, Jun 1, 2026; Agriculture Committee, Jan 29, 2026).
| Topic | House-passed text (Jul 17, 2025) | Senate Banking substitute (Jun 1, 2026) | Senate Agriculture bill (S. 3755, Feb 2, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core concept | “Digital commodity” plus the mature blockchain test | “Ancillary asset”: a network token whose value depends on the originator’s efforts | Legal definition of digital commodities and a CFTC spot-market regime |
| Fundraising exemption | Up to $50 million per 12 months | The greater of $50 million per calendar year for up to 4 years or 10% of outstanding value, subject to a $200 million lifetime cap | Not covered (SEC side) |
| Stablecoin rewards | No separate rule (GENIUS Act bars issuers from paying interest) | Platforms may not pay US customers interest-like yield for simply holding stablecoins; activity-based rewards allowed, rules within 1 year (sec. 404) | Not covered |
| Customer assets | Segregation at exchanges; customer property in bankruptcy | Customer property protections in bankruptcy (Title VII) | Customer fund segregation, conflict-of-interest rules, disclosures |
| Software developers | DeFi activities excluded; anti-fraud powers kept | Title VI protections for software developers and self-custody | Protections for software developers |
| Takes effect | 270 days (CFTC title) or 360 days (SEC titles) after enactment | 360 days after enactment, later where rules are needed | Not checked here |
If enacted, mostly more disclosure and registered platforms, not safer tokens. Today there is no market-structure statute: the SEC and CFTC apply existing law, guided by the SEC’s March 17, 2026 interpretation on which crypto assets are securities (Release 33-11412), and stablecoin issuers come under the GENIUS Act from January 18, 2027. How DeFi protocols fit is covered in what is DeFi?
Counterexample: an investor reads that a token “is a digital commodity under CLARITY” and treats that as a stamp of safety. The label would only decide which agency oversees trading in it. A digital commodity can still fall 90%, an exchange can still fail, and the bill adds no deposit insurance. What it would add is a duty to keep customer assets separate and a claim to them in bankruptcy at registered platforms. For the timeline of tokenized shares, which sit outside this bill, see will stocks be tokenized?
Market intel provides market context, cross-asset analysis, an events calendar and regular written notes. These can inform your review of an existing plan; they do not reliably predict crashes or guarantee better outcomes.
It passed the House 294–134 on July 17, 2025, but not the Senate. On September 15, 2026, cloture on the motion to proceed failed 49–50 (Record Vote 234), and no later action was recorded as of October 26, 2026.
Yes. The committee advanced a full substitute text 15–9 on May 14, 2026, per the committee’s own release, and reported it on June 1, 2026. Committee approval is not passage by the Senate.
It would give the CFTC oversight of spot trading in tokens whose value comes from a blockchain’s use, through registered exchanges, brokers and dealers, and keep the SEC in charge of how projects raise money, with a new exemption of up to $50 million per 12 months in the House text.
A blockchain system, together with its token, that is not controlled by any person or group under common control. An issuer or others can certify maturity to the SEC, which has 60 days to rebut.
GENIUS is law (signed July 18, 2025) and covers payment stablecoins, taking effect January 18, 2027. CLARITY is a bill covering most other crypto tokens and the platforms that trade them; it is not law.
The House text has no such rule. The Senate Banking substitute would bar platforms from paying US customers interest-like yield just for holding payment stablecoins, while allowing rewards tied to activity, with rules due within a year of enactment.
The House text says validating, running nodes, publishing protocols, offering user interfaces, liquidity pools and self-custody wallets do not by themselves bring a person under the Act, but the SEC and CFTC keep anti-fraud and anti-manipulation authority.
Bills that are not enacted lapse at the end of a Congress. The 119th Congress ends on January 3, 2027; after that a market-structure bill would have to be introduced again.
Market intel provides a Risk ON / Neutral / Risk OFF reading from four pillars, cross-asset analysis, an events calendar and regular written notes. Context for reviewing a plan, not a crash forecast.
Educational content, not investment advice. Examples are illustrative; past performance does not guarantee future results.