The CLARITY Act’s Delay Moves Its Next Real Chance to 2030

The next viable window for the CLARITY Act may not open until 2030. Senator Cynthia Lummis has warned that if the bill does not reach the Senate floor by May, it will be shelved for the remainder of 2026 due to midterm election pressures. The Senate Banking Committee did not schedule the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act for markup the week of April 20, despite expectations it would after the Easter recess. Chairman Tim Scott cited three unresolved issues: the dispute over stablecoin yield, outstanding DeFi provisions, and the need to align all Republican committee members—each potentially adding two more weeks of delay. Senator Thom Tillis is finalizing a compromise that would permit activity-based rewards on stablecoins but ban passive yield, a framework banks have opposed. Tillis told Politico he remains open to changes. Even if a markup occurs, the bill must secure 60 Senate votes, reconcile with both the Agriculture Committee’s version and the House-passed bill from July 2025, and be signed into law. With only 18 working weeks before the October midterm recess, the path has narrowed. Polymarket now assigns a 58% probability to the bill becoming law in 2026, down from 82% at the start of the year. The next opportunity, Lummis said, may not come again until 2030.