Crypto : The US Congress Faces a Critical Deadline for the CLARITY Act
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The window seems to be closing to adopt a law regulating crypto assets in the United States. On Friday, April 11, 2026, Senator Cynthia Lummis issued a direct warning to the US Congress via her X account: vote for the CLARITY Act now or wait until 2030. For the entire crypto ecosystem, the coming weeks are therefore decisive.
En bref
- April 11, 2026: Cynthia Lummis, Republican senator from Wyoming, warns that the CLARITY Act must pass before the November 2026 midterms, or the legislation could be delayed until at least 2030.
- David Sacks, former White House crypto coordinator, is calling for an immediate vote by the Senate Banking Committee and anticipates Trump’s signature.
- Paul Atkins, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is urging Congress to adopt “future-proof” legislation on digital asset market structure.
- Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, believes it is time to pass the bill.
- For European crypto investors, the adoption of the CLARITY Act in 2026 would intensify competition with the MiCA framework and could accelerate the migration of digital assets toward U.S. markets.
Why is the CLARITY Act the top priority of crypto regulation in the United States?
A subject of debate in the Senate for several months, the CLARITY Act is the cornerstone of American crypto regulation. Its ambition: to define a comprehensive legal framework for digital assets by transferring the oversight of most cryptocurrencies from the SEC to the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). A structural change that the crypto industry has awaited for years.
The urgency comes from the political calendar. The US midterm elections are indeed scheduled for November 2026. If the crypto law is not adopted beforehand, the new composition of Congress could freeze the issue for several years.
Lummis states it plainly without hesitation:
Former White House advisor for AI and crypto, David Sacks, added his voice on April 10:
The time to act is now. The Senate Banking Committee, then the entire Senate, should adopt the market structure.
He even assures that President Donald Trump will sign the bill once adopted.
From the side of crypto regulators, SEC chairman Paul Atkins declared that it’s time for Congress to shield itself from uncontrolled regulators and send this bill to the president’s office.
What are the remaining obstacles blocking the crypto vote in the US Senate?
Despite apparent consensus, three points still block the CLARITY Act at the Senate Banking Committee:
- the yield of stablecoins;
- tokenized stocks;
- ethical issues.
Coinbase general counsel Paul Grewal indicated on April 2 that the markup hearing was approaching, but these disagreements must first be resolved. According to him, the US Senate is nearing a key agreement.
Pressure is mounting from all sides. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase (who had withdrawn his support for the bill in January 2026), said on Friday that it is now time for the crypto bill to move forward.
For his part, venture capitalist Chris Dixon (A16z Crypto) sums up the crypto industry’s position in one sentence:
When the rules are clearly defined, both consumers and entrepreneurs benefit.
The Senate Agriculture Committee already voted on its version of the bill in January 2026. Only the Senate Banking Committee remains to pave the way for a floor vote. Political pressure is therefore at its peak. The crypto industry knows that a missed opportunity now will cost years of regulatory uncertainty.
One thing is certain: if Washington does not pass the CLARITY Act in the coming weeks, the entire international crypto market will pay the price. For investors, 4 years of US regulatory uncertainty means 4 years of markets without an institutional compass.
