Criptowiz

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (H.R. 3633) represents the most significant attempt to resolve that problem. Passed by the House in July 2025 with a bipartisan vote of 294 to 134, the bill draws clear jurisdictional lines, establishes structured registration pathways, and introduces a framework that treats digital assets as a regulated asset class with defined rules rather than an enforcement target. It now awaits Senate action, where competing committee drafts are being reconciled.
While CLARITY Act has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives, several key milestones will determine when and how the framework takes effect.

Early 2026 (Ongoing) - Senate deliberations continue
Senate committees are currently reviewing competing proposals for digital asset market structure legislation. Lawmakers will need to reconcile these with the House-passed CLARITY Act before a final bill can move to a full Senate vote and eventually to the President’s desk. With negotiations reaching a critical phase, and Treasury Secretary Bessent signaling a potential spring 2026 signing timeline, the CLARITY Act is shifting from a legislative possibility to an operational planning horizon for the entire industry.
August 2026 - Related regulatory frameworks expected to advance
Industry observers expect progress on complementary policy areas, including crypto tax reporting rules and potential CFTC rulemaking related to digital commodity markets and blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

November 3, 2026 – U.S. Midterm Elections
The congressional midterm elections represent a political inflection point. Supporters of market-structure legislation are aiming to pass a final bill before this date, as a shift in congressional control could delay or reshape the legislative process.
Note: Legislative timelines are fluid and may shift depending on Senate negotiations and broader political developments in Washington.
What’s the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is a U.S. market structure bill that defines how digital assets are regulated and clarifies the jurisdictional split between the SEC and CFTC. It establishes a framework for classifying tokens, registering crypto intermediaries, and providing a pathway for networks to transition from securities oversight to commodity regulation as they decentralize.
The legislation addresses a long-standing regulatory conflict in the United States. The SEC maintained that the vast majority of tokens were securities under the Howey Test, a legal standard that defines a security as an investment of money in a common enterprise, with the expectation of profits derived from the efforts of others. The CFTC, conversely, argued that Bitcoin and Ether were commodities and therefore within its jurisdiction. Neither agency conceded ground, and the overlap between their respective claims created persistent ambiguity for the entire industry.
While the SEC eventually permitted spot Ether ETFs, it stopped short of formally reclassifying the asset—and it took until recently for Congress to begin codifying the divide through legislation like the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) and the CLARITY Act itself.
This uncertainty has had real consequences for the industry. Exchanges faced legal risk when listing new assets, and institutional investors struggled to build compliant custody and reporting workflows without knowing which regulatory framework applied. Builders and projects launching new networks often had little clarity on which regulator would ultimately oversee their token.
Act distinguishes between several categories of digital assets:
Digital commodities: assets whose value is derived from network use, falling under the CFTC's new spot market authorityInvestment contracts involving digital assets: tokens sold via securities offerings that remain under SEC oversight until the underlying blockchain is certified as a mature, decentralized systemPayment stablecoins: regulated primarily by federal banking or credit union regulators, with trading oversight shared by the SEC and CFTC
For exchanges, the Act establishes a Digital Commodity Exchange (DCE) registration framework under the CFTC, introducing requirements around market integrity, asset segregation, and conflict management.