Regulation
Clarity Act Increasingly Seen as Dead for 2026 Despite White House Push
01 Sep 2026, 22:30
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Despite continued efforts by Trump and crypto executives to revive the stalled market-structure bill, many in Washington now expect it won't pass before the year is out.
<p>Growing numbers of lawmakers and industry observers in Washington are resigned to the possibility that the Clarity Act is effectively dead for 2026, despite continued efforts by President Trump and crypto industry executives to build momentum for the stalled market-structure bill. The shift in sentiment follows the Senate's decision to postpone formal consideration of the legislation until September after failing to reach agreement before the August recess.</p>
<p>The bill's struggles come despite what has arguably been the most favorable political environment for crypto legislation in years, including a White House summit in August between President Trump and executives from Coinbase and Robinhood, where Trump personally called for a "fair version" of the bill to pass. That high-profile engagement has not been enough, so far, to overcome the substantive disagreements among lawmakers over the bill's scope and treatment of specific asset categories.</p>
<p>Sticking points reportedly include how the legislation would treat stablecoins, decentralized finance protocols, and the dividing line between commodities and securities for newer categories of digital assets -- disagreements that sources close to the negotiations have described as substantive policy differences rather than simple scheduling conflicts. A procedural test expected around September 15 was meant to offer a clearer signal on the bill's prospects, but growing pessimism suggests even that milestone may not be enough to revive momentum.</p>
<p>The bill's difficulties illustrate a persistent pattern in U.S. crypto policy throughout 2026: strong rhetorical support from the executive branch and industry lobbying has repeatedly failed to translate into actual legislative progress, given the divided nature of the current Congress and the technical complexity of drafting comprehensive market-structure rules that satisfy both crypto-friendly and more skeptical lawmakers simultaneously.</p>
<p>For an industry that has treated the Clarity Act as one of its top legislative priorities for the year, growing expectations that it won't pass in 2026 would push the timeline for comprehensive U.S. market-structure clarity into 2027 at the earliest -- extending a period of regulatory ambiguity that industry groups have long argued pushes trading activity and innovation toward jurisdictions with clearer rules already in place.</p>
<p>The bill's struggles come despite what has arguably been the most favorable political environment for crypto legislation in years, including a White House summit in August between President Trump and executives from Coinbase and Robinhood, where Trump personally called for a "fair version" of the bill to pass. That high-profile engagement has not been enough, so far, to overcome the substantive disagreements among lawmakers over the bill's scope and treatment of specific asset categories.</p>
<p>Sticking points reportedly include how the legislation would treat stablecoins, decentralized finance protocols, and the dividing line between commodities and securities for newer categories of digital assets -- disagreements that sources close to the negotiations have described as substantive policy differences rather than simple scheduling conflicts. A procedural test expected around September 15 was meant to offer a clearer signal on the bill's prospects, but growing pessimism suggests even that milestone may not be enough to revive momentum.</p>
<p>The bill's difficulties illustrate a persistent pattern in U.S. crypto policy throughout 2026: strong rhetorical support from the executive branch and industry lobbying has repeatedly failed to translate into actual legislative progress, given the divided nature of the current Congress and the technical complexity of drafting comprehensive market-structure rules that satisfy both crypto-friendly and more skeptical lawmakers simultaneously.</p>
<p>For an industry that has treated the Clarity Act as one of its top legislative priorities for the year, growing expectations that it won't pass in 2026 would push the timeline for comprehensive U.S. market-structure clarity into 2027 at the earliest -- extending a period of regulatory ambiguity that industry groups have long argued pushes trading activity and innovation toward jurisdictions with clearer rules already in place.</p>