Bernstein warns CLARITY Act failure could speed SEC, CFTC rulemaking

The crypto industry’s best shot at comprehensive legislation is looking increasingly like a long shot. Bernstein analysts are now warning that the CLARITY Act, the sweeping bill designed to sort out which regulator oversees what in digital assets, is running out of runway in the Senate. Here’s the thing, though: the bill’s likely death might not be the disaster it sounds like. Bernstein suggests the failure could actually accelerate rulemaking by both the SEC and CFTC through their joint initiative, Project Crypto, potentially delivering the regulatory clarity the industry has been begging for, just through the back door instead of the front. The CLARITY Act’s fading pulse The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, formally known as H.R. 3633, passed the House back in 2025. The bill would give the CFTC oversight of digital commodities while limiting the SEC’s jurisdiction over certain asset classes. Senate Republicans released an updated version of the bill’s text on July 22, 2026. But despite that refresh, prediction-market odds for the CLARITY Act passing in 2026 have dropped to roughly 31%. Project Crypto steps into the breach Project Crypto, the joint regulatory initiative that’s be...