Senator Cynthia Lummis told attendees at Bitcoin Conference 2026 that the Clarity Act, the long-debated market structure framework for digital assets, will receive a committee markup in May. “We are going to mark up the Clarity Act in May,” she said. “We are gonna get it to the finish line.”
The announcement sets a concrete timeline for legislation that has languished for years. A May markup positions the bill for a Senate floor vote as early as June, with the possibility of a presidential signature before summer. The narrow window matters: if the Clarity Act doesn’t pass this year, Lummis warned, U.S. crypto regulation could remain frozen until 2030.
CFTC Jurisdiction, Narrowed SEC Role
The Clarity Act shifts most digital asset oversight to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while limiting the Securities and Exchange Commission’s remit to tokenized securities. That jurisdictional split has been the industry’s ask since the Howey test began swallowing everything with a token sale. Whether the SEC’s enforcement division quietly accepts a diminished role or fights through commentary and no-action relief remains an open question, but Lummis’s confidence suggests the votes are there.
White House Executive Director Patrick Witt added his own framing: once the legislation is signed into law, “this industry is going to take off like a rocket ship.” The comment reflects the administration’s public posture on crypto, supportive in rhetoric, though actual policy delivery has lagged campaign promises. A signed Clarity Act would be the first major federal market structure law for digital assets, ending the multi-year limbo where projects guessed at compliance through enforcement actions and Wells notices.
Midterm Clock and Legislative Reality
The 2026 midterms loom. Legislative windows close fast in election years, and crypto’s bipartisan momentum has wavered before when other priorities crowded the calendar. Lummis is betting that a May markup, a June vote, and a summer signing are achievable. That’s aggressive. It’s also the closest the U.S. has come to codified rules that don’t hinge on which agency head is in office or which judge draws the case.
If the Clarity Act passes, the next phase isn’t regulatory certainty, it’s regulatory interpretation. The CFTC will need to staff up, write guidance, and handle the flood of projects that will immediately claim commodity status. The SEC will contest边界 cases. Stablecoin bills, DeFi carve-outs, and tax treatment still need separate legislative attention. But Lummis just put a date on the board. May markup. Finish line ahead.
