TLDR
Major Wall Street asset managers including BlackRock, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton have publicly backed the CLARITY Act, a US bill to create a clear federal framework for crypto.
- A coalition of giants like BlackRock, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab and Franklin Templeton now support the CLARITY Act, signaling strong institutional demand for crypto rules.
- The bill would formally split digital asset oversight between the SEC and CFTC, define token categories, and add registration, disclosure and anti-fraud protections for crypto markets.
- Despite Wall Street backing, Senate passage odds for 2026 are estimated around 30 percent, with ethics and stablecoin issues still unresolved, so timing and final shape of regulation remain uncertain.
Deep Dive
1. Who Is Backing It
Recent reports show Franklin Templeton joining BlackRock, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs and Charles Schwab in publicly endorsing the CLARITY Act, collectively representing tens of trillions of dollars in assets under management. Franklin Templeton and others argue the bill would finally give investors clear protections and firms a stable rulebook for tokenization, custody and trading of digital assets, rather than navigating case by case enforcement. This Wall Street coalition is complemented by vocal support from crypto-native players like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who has urged the Senate to move the bill across the line as a bipartisan market structure breakthrough.
When the largest traditional finance firms ask for the same crypto rules, it is a strong signal that institutional expansion is constrained more by regulation than by lack of interest.
2. What The Act Changes
The CLARITY Act, formally the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, is designed to end the long fight over whether a token is a security or a commodity and who regulates it. It would divide oversight between the SEC and CFTC, classify tokens into digital commodities versus digital asset securities, and set federal standards for exchange registration, customer protections, disclosures and anti-fraud and anti-money-laundering obligations. Backers like BlackRocks Samara Cohen describe it as an important step toward a framework that supports innovation while preserving transparency and investor protections, and many see it as the core US crypto market structure law.
If enacted, exchanges, custodians and token issuers would know which licenses they need and which agency they answer to, reducing legal risk and making institutional product design much easier.
3. Odds And Next Steps
Despite the surge of Wall Street support, the CLARITY Act still faces political hurdles. The House passed its version in 2025 and the Senate Banking Committee advanced a draft in 2026, but floor action has been delayed by disputes over ethics rules for officials, stablecoin yield, and how much power to leave with state enforcers. Prediction markets and research desks currently put the chance of it becoming law in 2026 around one third, reflecting a tight Senate calendar before the August recess and a 60 vote threshold. Opposition from figures like New York Attorney General Letitia James focuses on loss of state enforcement power, suggesting that any final bill may be narrower or further delayed into 2027.
Crypto users should watch for a scheduled Senate vote, changes to ethics and stablecoin language, and whether a fallback patchwork of SEC and CFTC rules emerges if comprehensive legislation stalls.
Conclusion
Wall Streets rally behind the CLARITY Act confirms that major finance is ready to scale deeper into crypto once clear, consistent rules are in place. The bill could reshape US market structure by formalizing SEC and CFTC roles and lowering regulatory uncertainty, but politics, ethics concerns and stablecoin debates mean its path is not guaranteed. Until Congress acts, institutional adoption will likely grow more slowly and focus on jurisdictions with clearer frameworks, making the eventual US outcome a key macro driver for digital asset markets.
