Over 120 Crypto Firms Warn Delay on CLARITY Act Risks U.S. Leadership 

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More than 120 digital asset organizations delivered a joint letter to the Senate Banking Committee on April 23, demanding an immediate markup of the CLARITY Act. The coalition warned that continued congressional inaction will drive crypto investment, jobs, and regulatory authority to foreign jurisdictions.

Postponed Markup Prompted the Coalition’s Move

The coalition is led by the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association. The CLARITY Act passed the House 294 to 134 in July 2025. At least one senator has warned that a missed May window means waiting until at least 2030.

The letter arrives after the CLARITY Act’s April Banking Committee markup was postponed amid renewed opposition from banking groups opposed to stablecoin yield provisions. The North Carolina Bankers Association directly urged members to contact Senator Thom Tillis’s office to demand alterations to a compromise that crypto firms had already negotiated.

In response, the White House Council of Economic Advisers published a 21-page analysis concluding that prohibiting stablecoin yield would increase bank lending by just 0.02% while imposing an $800 million welfare cost on consumers. Yet committee sources attributed the delay to renewed banking opposition strong enough to push the scheduled markup off the calendar.

Banking Opposition and Policy Disagreements Stall Senate Action

The bill now faces a standoff among crypto firms, banks, the SEC, and policy critics skeptical of the bill’s DeFi framework over stablecoin yield, DeFi oversight, and ethics provisions that would prohibit current government officials from holding or trading digital assets while in office. This provision emerged as one of the more politically sensitive sticking points in negotiations.

The coalition’s letter calls specifically for clear delineation of SEC and CFTC oversight roles, protection for non-custodial software developers from broker registration requirements, simplified disclosure rules for digital asset issuers, and a unified federal framework to replace inconsistent state-by-state regulations. Anil Oncu, CEO of Bitpace, wrote:

“The greatest danger now is that the current deadlock continues to push the global standard-setting role away from Washington and toward other jurisdictions.”

Senators Warn May Deadline Could Push Legislation to 2030

Several prominent legislators have publicly named May as a hard deadline for the bill. Senator Bernie Moreno told attendees at a Washington industry event on April 22 that if the bill does not reach the full Senate floor by May, digital asset legislation may not advance before the midterm election cycle forecloses the opportunity.  

Senator Cynthia Lummis has gone further, calling this “our last chance” and cautioning that a missed May window means waiting until at least 2030. Galaxy Research put the odds of the bill being signed into law in 2026 at roughly 50-50.

Industry leaders have also weighed in publicly. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse projected the bill will pass by the end of May, speaking at the Semafor World Economy Summit in Washington on April 13. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong backed the latest version after reversing the company’s opposition, posting his endorsement on X on April 10.

Bill Faces Long Senate Gauntlet Before Reaching Trump’s Desk

Chairman Tim Scott has not formally noticed the CLARITY Act for action and has not indicated a public timeline for doing so. The bill must still clear the Senate Banking Committee, pass a full Senate floor vote, likely requiring 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. 

It must also survive reconciliation between the Senate Agriculture and Banking Committee versions, each with jurisdiction over different provisions. It must then be reconciled with the House-passed text before reaching President Trump’s desk. With the May window closing fast and the midterm calendar limiting floor time after summer, the bill’s path is narrowing quickly.