The US CLARITY Act, which aims to bring more regulatory clarity to the crypto industry, may have little chance this year if it doesn’t move forward within the next seven weeks, according to a crypto executive.
“If CLARITY doesn’t pass the committee by the end of April, the chances of passage in 2026 will be very low,” Galaxy Digital head of research Alex Thorne said in an X message on Saturday.
“This has to go to the Senate floor by early May … floor time is running out and the odds are diminishing with each passing day,” Thorne said. This comes after US Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he doesn’t expect the chamber to pass legislation to structure the digital asset market until April because it prioritizes the SAVE America Act, which requires voters to provide proof of US citizenship in person.
The stablecoin premium controversy may not be the last hurdle
Thorne said the CLARITY Act’s main focus is the debate over whether stablecoin rewards disrupt the traditional banking system, which has divided the banking and crypto industries, but warned that more issues could arise once the debate is resolved.
“It’s very possible that rewards aren’t the ‘final’ barrier, but just the current pile of bills to die on,” Thorne said, pointing to potential issues around DeFi, developer protection, and regulatory authorities.
U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks, a key Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, recently said that the crypto and banking lobbies should both accept the deals. “We’re all probably going to walk away a little bit miserable,” he said Tuesday.
CLARITY Act may not pass until 2029, investment bank says
Some lawmakers were optimistic about the April timetable. U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno said on February 19 that the CLARITY Act could make its way through Congress “hopefully by April.”
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However, investment bank TD Cowen warned in January that legislation to structure the crypto market may not be passed until 2027 and could take effect in 2029 if Democratic lawmakers can block the vote after the midterm elections and regain power in at least one chamber of Congress.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump criticized banks for stalling the Senate’s crypto market structure bill amid controversy over stablecoin revenue payments. Trump said on March 4, “The US needs to complete the market structure as soon as possible.”
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