CLARITY Act: Where is the major American law on cryptocurrencies?

The CLARITY Act remains blocked in the Senate. As of October 12, the American bill on the organization of crypto markets has not passed the hurdle of the procedural vote of September 15. A possibility of reconsideration remains, but no new ballot has been announced. Meanwhile, the SEC and CFTC are moving forward with more targeted measures, within the limits of their current powers.

CLARITY Act: A procedural failure which leaves a possibility of recovery

The official Senate register confirms the result of September 15: 49 votes in favor, 50 against and one absence, while 60 votes were necessary. Democrats present voted against it, as did Republicans Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Jerry Moran and Thom Tillis. Chris Coons did not participate in the ballot.

This vote did not concern the final adoption of the CLARITY Act. It was supposed to make it possible to overcome the obstruction of the motion opening its examination in session. Its failure therefore stopped the progress of the text.

However, Thom Tillis filed a motion for reconsideration, which leaves open the possibility of a new vote. The CLARITY Act may therefore still come before the Senate before the end of the current Congress. But no vote has been announced, and its promoters must still gather the 60 votes necessary to unblock its examination.

Last minute concessions did not bring together a sufficient coalition. Republican promoters demanded 126 changes, including ethical restrictions, developer protections and the risks of leakage of bank deposits to stablecoins. Democrats, however, considered the guarantees against conflicts of interest insufficient, particularly with regard to the crypto activities of the Trump family.

Crypto regulation: The SEC and CFTC move forward without replacing Congress

Parliamentary blocking does not suspend regulatory work. On September 17, the SEC granted temporary and conditional exemptions to allow trading of certain tokenized stocks on new platforms. These securities must notably preserve the rights associated with traditional shares. This system concerns financial securities markets, not all cryptocurrencies.

For its part, the CFTC opened a preliminary consultation on October 5 on the supervision of retail crypto transactions involving in particular margin, leverage or financing. It envisages a category of platforms adapted to these operations. This is a regulatory project, and not definitive rules already applicable.

These initiatives use existing agency skills. They do not automatically give them the new powers that the CLARITY Act was to establish, in particular to organize broader supervision of crypto spot markets.

A parliamentary relaunch remains possible after the November elections, before the end of the current Congress. On the other hand, a postponement to 2027 requires resuming the legislative process in a new Congress.