Momentum for Clarity Act fades as Senate shelves crypto market structure bill until fall

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the most ambitious attempt at comprehensive crypto regulation in US history, is losing steam at exactly the wrong time. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has effectively shelved the bill until after the August recess, prioritizing nominations and Russia sanctions over what was supposed to be a landmark piece of financial legislation. Galaxy Research has slashed the odds of the bill actually becoming law to 30%, down from 50% just a month ago. What went wrong The CLARITY Act had real momentum not long ago. The House passed its version, H.R. 3633, with a surprisingly bipartisan vote of 294-134 on July 17, 2025. Senate committees approved related measures in early 2026. Then the Senate calendar got crowded. Thune’s decision to deprioritize the bill means any serious floor debate won’t happen until September at the earliest. Galaxy Research has flagged this narrowing legislative window as a primary reason for downgrading the bill’s prospects, noting it would take a “last-ditch effort” to get things done before the political calendar makes passage functionally impossible until 2026. A new draft of the bill has tried to address some of the friction p...