CFTC chief pushes CLARITY Act toward passage

TLDR

CFTC Chair Brian Selig is publicly urging Congress to finish and pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act), a comprehensive US crypto market structure bill.

1. Selig has said Congress is at the finish line on the CLARITY Act, which would formally split SEC and CFTC roles and give the CFTC explicit authority over spot digital commodities.
2. The bill would codify rules for stablecoins, exchanges, tokenized assets, and prediction markets, potentially moving much of US crypto trading into a clearer, onshore regulatory framework.
3. A Senate Banking markup is expected in May, but opposition from major banks and the approaching 2026 midterms mean there is still a real risk the bill slips or dies.

Deep Dive

1. CFTC Chairs Push And Powers

At the Milken Institute Global Conference, CFTC Chair Selig said he is hopeful the CLARITY Act can pass by around July 4 and argued Congress is at the finish line on this compromise digital asset bill, which would explicitly give the CFTC jurisdiction over spot markets for digital commodities and their intermediaries, not just derivatives like futures and swaps, resolving a long running gray area for Bitcoin like assets and similar tokens that are not treated as securities under federal law. He paired this with a joint SEC CFTC Project Crypto initiative to harmonize oversight and create a common asset taxonomy so firms are not trapped between overlapping rulebooks, stressing that innovation must be paired with market integrity in areas such as perpetual futures, tokenized collateral, and prediction markets, as described in a Milken speech summary on a compromise market structure bill.

2. What The CLARITY Act Would Change

The CLARITY Act is the first serious attempt at a single federal framework for digital assets, defining which tokens fall under SEC securities rules and which are treated as CFTC regulated digital commodities, while also setting requirements for stablecoins and tokenized assets. A key breakthrough was a bipartisan stablecoin yield compromise that restricts banks and crypto platforms from paying interest like returns on passive stablecoin deposits but allows activity based rewards, clearing the main hurdle to a Senate Banking markup and boosting odds of a floor vote in June or July according to coverage of the stablecoin yield compromise and markup plan. For users, that would likely mean clearer rules on who can issue and custody stablecoins, how reserves must be held, and which venues can legally offer leveraged or perpetual products linked to crypto.

3. Timeline, Politics, And Remaining Risks

Even with CFTC and industry support, the bill is not locked in. Major banking groups argue the stablecoin language still lets crypto platforms mimic deposit yields and warn of deposit flight from banks, while some crypto voices worry about how DeFi and developer liability are treated, as highlighted in bank critiques of the yield compromise draft. Politically, pro crypto lawmakers talk about getting the bill to the President by early summer, but others, including Ripples Brad Garlinghouse, caution that if the Senate misses a narrow window before the 2026 midterm campaign cycle, the bills chances fall sharply.

Conclusion

The CFTC chairs public push for the CLARITY Act shows US regulators are ready to live with a negotiated, shared framework for crypto rather than case by case fights. For traders, builders, and stablecoin users, the bill could finally clarify which regulator they answer to and which products are allowed onshore, but until the Senate clears markup and sets a vote, the outcome remains a high stakes, time sensitive political trade.