Clarity Act nears final draft in Congress

TLDR

The CLARITY Act, a major US crypto regulation bill, is close to a final draft but still faces political and timing risks before it can become law.

1. Lawmakers and regulators have resolved most disputes over the CLARITY Act, with only two or three issues left before a final text is ready for a vote.
2. The bill would define SEC versus CFTC powers, set rules for tokens, stablecoins and DeFi, and likely limit passive stablecoin yield while allowing some activity based rewards.
3. The main risk is the 2026 election calendar and broader Congressional gridlock, so the bill could still slip to 2027 or later if committee action is delayed.

Deep Dive

1. How Close The CLARITY Act Really Is

Recent reporting citing a JPMorgan analysis says negotiations on the CLARITY Act have narrowed unresolved points from around twelve to just two to three issues, suggesting the rulebook is close to completion and a draft is very close to finished.[](https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/04/16/buying-coffee-with-bitcoin-is-easy-the-resulting-tax-burden-is-not)

House lawmakers already passed an earlier version in 2025, and Senate staff are now refining the final language on DeFi oversight, token classification and stablecoin yield, according to multiple policy briefings hosted on CoinMarketCaps news feed.[]()

However, the final text is not yet public, and the Senate Banking Committee has not formally scheduled its markup, so nearing final draft means the negotiating text is nearly done, not that a vote is guaranteed.

2. What The Act Would Change For Crypto

Substantively, the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act would for the first time codify which assets and activities sit with the Securities and Exchange Commission and which fall to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, resolving long running SEC CFTC overlap.[]()

It also introduces legal definitions for tokens, stablecoins and DeFi platforms, plus exchange and broker rules such as custody, anti money laundering and market integrity standards, moving the US from a patchwork of state and federal guidance to a single federal framework.[]()

On stablecoins, a tentative compromise described by JPMorgan and others would ban passive, savings account style interest from issuers, while allowing rewards tied to active use, which banks worry about as quasi deposit competition and crypto firms see as critical product flexibility.?

3. Timeline, Politics And What To Watch

The key near term gating factor is Senate procedure, with analysts warning the bill needs a Banking Committee markup by late spring to realistically clear a floor vote before the 2026 midterms crowd out bandwidth.?

Separate fights over surveillance reauthorization and budget reconciliation are already consuming floor time, and some observers warn that if the CLARITY Act misses this window, it may be pushed to 2027 or later, despite prediction markets still pricing passage odds in the mid double digits.?

For crypto users and builders, the practical signals to watch are: 1) an announced Banking Committee markup date, 2) publication of the stablecoin yield compromise text, and 3) release of the full bill so projects can assess concrete impacts.

Conclusion

The CLARITY Act is indeed nearing a finished draft, with most technical disputes resolved and a broad outline that would finally define the US crypto rulebook. The remaining uncertainty is political and calendrical, not conceptual, so the next few months of committee scheduling and election maneuvering will determine whether long awaited regulatory clarity arrives in 2026 or is deferred for years.