The push to establish a clear regulatory framework for the U.S. crypto market has hit another roadblock.
Lawmakers have now confirmed that the CLARITY Act will not reach the Senate floor this year, with negotiations stalling over unresolved policy disagreements. Attention has shifted to early 2026 as the next realistic window for progress.
Key takeaways
The CLARITY Act is no longer expected to pass the U.S. Senate this year, with action pushed to early 2026.
Lawmakers say unresolved disagreements, especially around DeFi oversight, are blocking progress.
Political tensions tied to President Donald Trump’s crypto-related ventures have added to the delay.
Senator John Kennedy, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said the bill is still not ready for a final vote. Speaking to CNBC, he acknowledged that talks have moved forward in some areas but stressed that key sticking points remain unresolved. Because of this, the Senate is not positioned to advance the legislation before the end of the year, forcing lawmakers to once again delay planned committee markups.
The setback is significant, as lawmakers had been aiming to hold a vote this month. Instead, the earliest opportunity for action has now been pushed to January 2026, marking another delay in efforts to define how digital assets should be regulated in the United States.
Tim Scott Signals Restart in 2026
Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott confirmed the revised timeline, saying committee work on the bill will resume in early 2026. While the legislation carries different titles in the House and Senate, Scott emphasized that lawmakers are treating it as a single, unified crypto market structure proposal.
Scott placed blame for the delay on Democratic opposition, arguing that internal resistance has effectively frozen progress. Despite the setback, he said he remains hopeful that the Senate can revisit the bill and move it toward a vote early next year.
DeFi Rules and Political Tensions Drive Deadlock
At the heart of the delay are deepening divisions over how crypto and decentralized finance should be regulated. Although there is broad agreement that clearer rules are needed, lawmakers remain split on the scope of oversight. In October, Senate Democrats introduced a separate DeFi-focused proposal that included identity verification and stricter anti-money-laundering requirements.
That proposal triggered strong backlash from the crypto industry, with critics warning it could severely restrict DeFi activity in the U.S. Several Republican lawmakers echoed those concerns, arguing that overly strict rules would push innovation offshore rather than improve consumer protection.
Political tensions have further complicated negotiations. Some Democrats have argued that advancing crypto legislation could indirectly benefit President Donald Trump’s business interests, including a Trump-branded meme coin, the World Liberty Financial DeFi project, and American Bitcoin, a mining firm co-founded by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.
Representative Maxine Waters has been among the most vocal critics. In a previous statement, she warned that passing the bills would make Congress complicit in what she described as the president’s “crypto corruption,” highlighting how partisan concerns continue to weigh heavily on the bill’s future.
For now, the CLARITY Act remains in limbo, with lawmakers signaling that the debate over crypto market structure is far from settled – and unlikely to be resolved before 2026.
