CLARITY Act Faces Hurdles: Senate Must Merge Crypto Bills for Passage

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What Comes Next for the CLARITY Act? Grayscale Flags Key Hurdles

As a crypto investor, I’m cautiously optimistic about the CLARITY Act. It just passed a Senate committee with bipartisan support – that’s a good sign! But it’s not a done deal yet. The bill still needs to be combined with another one in the Senate, and then whatever comes out of that has to be aligned with what the House of Representatives is working on. So, there are still a few steps to go before it becomes law.

Key Takeaways:

  • CLARITY faces several remaining hurdles after gaining Senate committee support in a 15-9 vote, Grayscale says.
  • Lawmakers must combine it with another Senate crypto bill before resolving differences with the House version.
  • Senate passage may require at least seven Democratic votes if Republicans stay united.

CLARITY Act’s Next Phase Hinges on Consolidation

Crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments shared on May 15 what comes next for the CLARITY Act after the Senate Banking Committee advanced the digital asset market bill in a 15-9 vote. Two Democrats joined Republicans, giving the measure bipartisan support before a more difficult full Senate process. Zach Pandl, head of research at Grayscale, noted:

“The CLARITY Act has cleared a key hurdle in the Senate Banking Committee on a bipartisan vote.”

That next phase starts with consolidation. CLARITY must be combined with the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act (DCIA), which cleared the Senate Agriculture Committee on Jan. 29 in a 12-11 party-line vote. That combined Senate package also must be reconciled with the House version of CLARITY, which passed last July.

The two Senate bills overlap, but they approach market structure differently. CLARITY is the broader framework. It covers token classifications, investor disclosures, intermediary registration, banking integration, anti-money laundering (AML) rules, and the division of authority between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It also includes a three-tier digital asset taxonomy, Regulation Crypto, and Bank Secrecy Act rules for crypto intermediaries.

My research focuses on the Digital Commodity Interchange Act, or DCIA, which is quite specific. It really zeroes in on things like digital commodities themselves, and how the CFTC regulates the players involved – that’s brokers, custodians, and exchanges. We’re also looking at spot markets, how customer funds are kept separate and secure, what needs to be disclosed, potential conflicts of interest, and how the CFTC coordinates with the SEC.

Senate Must Merge Two Crypto Market Bills

The two bills also differ in how they divide oversight between regulators. CLARITY keeps the SEC involved in digital asset securities and certain ancillary asset offerings, while DCIA shifts more oversight of digital commodity spot markets toward the CFTC. CLARITY also includes broader rules tied to banking integration, custody, payments, anti-money laundering protections, and Treasury authority over high-risk foreign crypto transfers.

Grayscale pointed to predictions on platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi, which estimated the bill had around a 70% chance of passing. However, this still relies on several things happening: lawmakers need to combine the Banking and Agriculture bills, ensure the Senate version matches the House version, and get enough Democratic votes to approve it.

Pandl noted:

We believe this bill has a good chance of being passed this year, but it will need support from both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to actually become law.

Senate math is now the key constraint. Republicans hold 53 seats, so at least seven Democrats would need to support the legislation if Republicans remain united. Senators Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland backed the CLARITY Act during the Senate Banking Committee vote. The GENIUS Act’s 68-30 Senate approval offers a recent model for bipartisan crypto legislation.

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2026-05-17 03:28