What delayed the CLARITY Act markup?

TLDR

The CLARITY Act markup was delayed primarily by unresolved policy disputes and a tight year?end Senate schedule after earlier slippage from a 43?day government shutdown.

1. Ongoing disagreements over DeFi oversight and SEC/CFTC jurisdiction stalled negotiations policy divisions.
2. Year?end calendar and holiday recess left insufficient committee time schedule constraints.
3. A record 43?day government shutdown pushed timelines and created backlog government shutdown.

Deep Dive

1. DeFi and Jurisdiction

Policy divisions over how to regulate DeFi and split authority between the SEC and CFTC were the core blocker. Reports describe Democrats proposing identity verification and stricter AML for DeFi, which met resistance from industry and some Republicans, leaving key definitions bracketed and unresolved policy divisions, and analysis noting bracketed statutory language on security and DeFi perimeter still unsettled draft status.

2. Calendar and Recess

The Senate reached the end of its workable calendar, with lawmakers leaving for the holiday recess and limited floor/committee time to complete a complex market?structure markup. Coverage highlights that the Banking Committee ran out of time to advance the bill in December, pushing formal work into early 2026 %%CKPROTECTED0%%.

3. Shutdown Backlog

Earlier progress was already slowed by a 43?day government shutdown in OctoberNovember, which stalled legislative work and forced rescheduling into late Q4 and now early 2026 government shutdown. Several outlets also note repeated target slippages from summer and October to year?end, then to January 2026 %%CKPROTECTED0%%.

Conclusion

The markup slipped because policy gaps (especially DeFi and regulator roles) collided with a crowded year?end calendar after a prolonged shutdown. The next actionable step is a January 2026 committee markup, but passage still depends on resolving those core disputes and securing floor time January markup plan.