US House passes CLARITY Act crypto bill

TLDR

The US House of Representatives has approved the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act), advancing a major crypto market-structure bill but leaving Senate and presidential steps unresolved.

1. House passage of H.R. 3633 gives bipartisan backing to a bill that would split digital asset oversight between the SEC and CFTC and set rules for exchanges and issuers.
2. If ultimately enacted, the CLARITY Act would define what counts as a digital commodity versus a security, protect customer assets in bankruptcy, and exempt noncustodial software from many licensing requirements.
3. The bill still faces a tough path in the Senate, with a September 15 cloture vote, disputes over stablecoin rewards and ethics rules, and prediction markets signaling low odds of 2026 enactment.

Deep Dive

1. House Vote And What The Bill Does

The House passed the CLARITY Act (H.R. 3633) by a 294 to 134 vote, with 78 Democrats joining Republicans, giving the measure strong bipartisan legitimacy as a crypto market-structure bill. That vote and its framing as a digital asset market framework are detailed in a House passage summary.

The bill would divide regulatory responsibilities between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, assigning digital commodities to CFTC spot oversight while keeping securities under the SEC, as described in Wyoming model coverage.

It also creates federal registration and disclosure rules for crypto exchanges, brokers, and certain issuers, and uses a 20 percent network control threshold to assess when a blockchain is sufficiently decentralized.

2. Why This Matters For Crypto Users

The CLARITY Act aims to answer core questions that have driven years of regulatory uncertainty: what is a token legally, who supervises its trading, and how are customer assets treated when a platform fails. It would codify that customer crypto held by a failed company is treated as customer property in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, potentially improving recoveries, according to framework analysis.

Noncustodial software developers, wallet providers, and validators who do not control user funds would be explicitly exempt from intermediary registration duties, which could reduce compliance risk for core infrastructure builders.

On the flip side, the bill includes controversial ethics and stablecoin provisions. Drafts would restrict stablecoin rewards and tighten rules on government officials financial ties to crypto, issues that both banking groups and crypto firms are contesting in ongoing negotiations.

3. Senate Hurdles And What To Watch Next

The key near term event is a September 15 Senate cloture vote on proceeding to the CLARITY Act, which needs 60 votes to open debate but does not itself pass the bill, as outlined in Senate vote previews.

Even if cloture succeeds, the Senate can amend the text, and the House would need to agree to any changes within a compressed legislative calendar. Reporting on the shortened schedule warns that limited House voting days in late September could push final action into a post election session.

Prediction markets currently assign roughly a mid teens percentage chance that CLARITY becomes law in 2026, reflecting skepticism about the bill clearing both chambers and reaching the president this year, per odds tracking.

Conclusion

House passage of the CLARITY Act moves US crypto regulation from theory toward a concrete market-structure framework, but the decisive phase now sits with the Senate and a tight legislative calendar. For crypto users and builders, the main signal to watch is whether the September 15 cloture vote and subsequent negotiations produce a unified bill, since only a completed statute would truly change how tokens, exchanges, and customer assets are treated across the US.