Senate Sets Procedural Vote on 600-Page Crypto Market Bill
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate was scheduled to hold a procedural vote on Sept. 15, 2026, on whether the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act moves forward. The bill needs 60 yes votes to advance. Its prospects were uncertain. NPR
The formal name is the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. A version had already passed the U.S. House before September 2026. At more than 600 pages, it would set the first full set of rules for the crypto industry in U.S. history. NPR
At its core, the bill divides who oversees crypto. It would split that job between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, with the CFTC getting most of the control. It is like assigning different referees to different parts of the same game. NPR In the 119th Congress (2025-2026), the bill is listed as H.R. 3633.
H.R. 3633 sets up a system for the SEC and the CFTC to regulate the offer and sale of digital commodities. It defines digital commodities as digital assets that rely on a blockchain for their value, a shared digital ledger kept across computers. It also sets a test for when a crypto platform is decentralized enough, meaning no single person or group is in charge, and that test decides which agency applies. Reuters
For crypto businesses, the bill lists detailed operating rules. H.R. 3633 sets requirements for trade monitoring, recordkeeping, and the mixing together of customer assets. Congress.gov It also includes disclosure requirements, or required public information, for certain deals involving ancillary assets, related tokens tied to a project.
In the House, the bill went through the Committees on Financial Services and Agriculture, which passed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025. In the Senate, the work has centered on the Banking Committee. Chairman Scott and Senators Lummis and Tillis released market structure bill text ahead of a Banking Committee markup of the CLARITY Act. The committee had published draft market structure bill text to provide for regulation of the offer and sale of digital commodities.
That Senate text has kept changing. The latest draft before the September 2026 Senate vote includes 126 changes. Chairman Scott called for Senate action on the Clarity Act legislation on digital assets. Senator Warren issued a statement on the new text of the Clarity Act crypto market structure legislation.
The bill had stalled amid concerns among Democrats and some Republicans. Reuters Crypto firms and banks took their lobbying fight over the Clarity Act to U.S. senators' home states ahead of the key Senate vote. Reuters
The vote is procedural. It does not pass the bill. It decides whether debate moves forward.
The broader context here is why the 60-vote threshold matters for market structure. A split with the CFTC in the lead role, plus written definitions for digital commodity, ancillary asset treatment, and decentralization, would settle questions that have been handled through enforcement cases and staff guidance. For trading platforms, brokers, and custodians, the details on monitoring, recordkeeping, separation of assets, and disclosure will shape how they follow the law. For the Senate, the count will test whether the revised text answered the objections that stalled the bill.
