The CLARITY Act, formally the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (H.R. 3633), is the US bill that would define which crypto assets are securities, which are commodities, and which federal regulator oversees each. On 17 July 2025 the House passed it 294 to 134. As of early September 2026, it has not become law, and its first Senate floor vote is scheduled for 15 September 2026.
The problem the CLARITY Act tries to solve
Who regulates what.
For more than a decade, US crypto operated without a statutory answer to whether a given token was a security under the SEC or a commodity under the CFTC. On that distinction hang registration requirements, disclosure obligations, which exchanges can list an asset, and who brings enforcement.
Both agencies asserted jurisdiction. Courts split. Businesses either moved offshore or built under legal uncertainty. The CLARITY Act's core purpose is to write the dividing line into statute so that no future administration can move it by changing enforcement priorities.
The bill's five main provisions
Five main things.
Defines digital commodities. Assets whose value derives from a functional, decentralized network rather than from the efforts of an identifiable promoter fall under CFTC jurisdiction.
Creates a decentralization test. Tokens with centralized control, an active issuing entity, or a founding team holding significant governance power remain under SEC jurisdiction as investment contract assets.
Establishes CFTC spot market authority. Exchanges trading digital commodities would register federally with the CFTC under specific conduct, custody, and capital standards.
Sets a path from security to commodity. A token sold as a security at launch could transition to commodity status once its network meets defined decentralization criteria.
Addresses DeFi and developers. The bill includes provisions on how decentralized protocols and their developers are treated, which remains one of the contested areas.
Where the bill stands, precisely
| Stage | Date | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| House vote | 17 July 2025 | Passed 294 to 134, with more than 70 Democrats in favor |
| Senate Banking Committee | 14 May 2026 | Advanced 15 to 9, the first broad crypto framework to clear a Senate committee |
| Senate Agriculture Committee | 2026 | Cleared with its own version of the text |
| Placed on Senate calendar | 1 June 2026 | Calendar No. 423, eligible for floor consideration |
| Motion to proceed filed | 8 August 2026 | Filed by Majority Leader John Thune after an overnight session |
| First Senate floor vote | 15 September 2026 | Scheduled, not yet held |
Four steps remain after that vote: passing a 60-vote cloture threshold, reconciling the Banking and Agriculture Committee texts, reconciling the Senate version with the House version, and a presidential signature.
Why 60 votes is the hard part
With 53 Senate seats, Republicans fall short of the 60 votes cloture needs. For the bill to advance, roughly seven to ten Democrats have to support it.
Two committee Democrats voted to advance it in May while stating that their committee votes did not guarantee floor support. Several issues were still unresolved heading into September, including ethics provisions covering officials' crypto holdings, stablecoin yield and rewards, illicit finance rules, DeFi treatment, and the exact division of SEC and CFTC authority.
Tracking the drift, prediction markets told the story. From around 75% after the May committee vote, Polymarket's contract on 2026 passage fell to a low near 24% in late July as the Senate left for recess without acting.
CLARITY and GENIUS are different bills
Frequently confused, and they address different problems.
Signed in July 2025, the GENIUS Act regulates payment stablecoins specifically: reserve requirements, licensing, disclosure, and redemption rights.
For everything else, the CLARITY Act addresses market structure: which assets are securities or commodities, which regulator owns which market, and how exchanges register.
Therefore the US has a finished stablecoin statute inside an unfinished market structure regime. Through MiCA, the European Union shipped both at once.
What the SEC and CFTC already did without legislation
While Congress deliberated, the agencies moved administratively.
On 17 March 2026, the SEC and CFTC issued a joint interpretation classifying 16 digital assets, including bitcoin, ether, solana, and XRP, as digital commodities. How the agencies currently read existing law is what that interpretation reflects.
Without a vote, any future commission can rescind it. Only a statute survives a change of administration, which is the entire argument for passing the bill rather than relying on guidance.
What the CLARITY Act would not do
- It would not classify every token. Newer and smaller projects with centralized control would remain under SEC jurisdiction. Most of the token market would not immediately qualify for commodity status.
- It would not regulate stablecoins. That is the GENIUS Act.
- It would not remove fraud enforcement. Anti-fraud authority applies regardless of classification.
- It would not bind other countries. Jurisdictions including the EU, the UAE, and Australia run their own frameworks.
- It would not settle DeFi. The provisions on decentralized protocols remained among the most contested through September 2026.
Where mb.io fits
mb.io operates under VARA in the UAE and AUSTRAC in Australia. US market structure legislation does not change that, though a clearer US framework changes the global context for regulated venues everywhere.
mb.io is a regulated crypto spot exchange backed by MultiBank Group, a financial institution founded in 2005 that serves more than 2 million clients across 100+ countries.
- Regulated by VARA in the UAE and AUSTRAC in Australia
- 10/10 security score from Hacken, an independent blockchain security auditor
- Institutional-grade MPC custody powered by Fireblocks, with segregated client funds
- A curated list of assets, so you're not sorting through thousands of tokens to find the ones worth trading
- Buy, sell, and swap in three steps, from sign-up to purchase
- 24/7 multilingual client support
Open your account and start trading on mb.io.
Frequently asked questions
What does the CLARITY Act do?
The CLARITY Act would define which crypto assets are securities and which are commodities, assign SEC and CFTC jurisdiction accordingly, and create federal registration standards for exchanges trading digital commodities.
Has the CLARITY Act passed?
On 17 July 2025 the House passed it, and in 2026 two Senate committees advanced it. As of early September 2026, it has not passed the full Senate. For 15 September 2026, the first floor vote is scheduled.
Why does the CLARITY Act need 60 votes?
Senate cloture rules require 60 votes to end debate. Republicans hold 53 seats, so roughly seven to ten Democrats must support the bill.
What is the difference between the CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act?
GENIUS regulates payment stablecoins and became law in July 2025. CLARITY addresses broader market structure, meaning which assets are securities or commodities and which regulator oversees each market.
Does the bill make all tokens commodities?
No. Tokens with centralized control, an active issuing team, or significant founder governance power would remain under SEC jurisdiction. The decentralization test is the dividing line.
What happens if the CLARITY Act fails?
The March 2026 joint SEC-CFTC interpretation continues to govern in practice, and it can be reversed by a future administration without a vote. That reversibility is the central argument for legislation.
Who wrote the CLARITY Act?
In the House Financial Services and Agriculture Committees it originated. In drafting the Senate Banking Committee's version, Senator Cynthia Lummis was a central figure.
Does the CLARITY Act affect exchanges outside the US?
Not directly. It governs US market structure. Exchanges in other jurisdictions operate under their own regulators, such as VARA in Dubai or MiCA in the European Union.
