CLARITY Act Fails to Advance in US Senate

The CLARITY Act, aimed at settling the division of authority between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has failed to advance in the US Senate with a procedural vote of 49-50. The bill needed 60 votes to proceed.

Although the bill's failure leaves the digital-asset industry without a federal market-structure statute, it does not create a complete legal vacuum. Securities and commodities laws still apply, and existing powers continue to be used by the SEC, CFTC, and banking regulators.

The GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, provides a statutory framework for payment stablecoins and assigns implementation work to federal and state regulators. This has created a distinction between stablecoin issuance, which has statutory footing, and other digital assets, which still lack an equivalent market-structure law.