Senator Tim Scott Leads Historic Clarity Act Markup For Digital Asset Regulation

Senate Banking Committee Chairman @SenatorTimScott formally opened the markup of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, known as the CLARITY Act, on May 14, 2026, setting the stage for the most consequential US crypto regulation vote in years.

A Bill Years in the Making

The CLARITY Act is not a new idea. The bill passed the House of Representatives on July 17, 2025, by a 294-134 bipartisan vote, with all 216 Republicans in support and 78 Democrats crossing the aisle. But it subsequently stalled in the Senate. Since then, the bill has sat in the Senate through two cancelled markup sessions, extended negotiations over stablecoin regulation, and an intensifying lobbying fight between the crypto industry and the traditional banking sector.

Scott highlighted significant bipartisan effort on the draft ahead of today's session, with the committee adding over 33,000 words and 219 pages since June 2025 to address cross-party concerns. The committee states that the text reflects months of bipartisan negotiations and input from regulators, law enforcement, financial institutions, innovators, and consumer advocates.

At its core, the legislation would draw a regulatory boundary between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, settling years of jurisdictional litigation over whether digital assets are securities or commodities.The Senate version of the bill expanded well beyond the House text, growing to nine titles covering decentralized finance protections, illicit finance provisions, bankruptcy safeguards for crypto customers, and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which provides safe harbors for software developers.

Pressure to Act Before Memorial Day

Ahead of the committee vote, Senator @SenLummis described the bill as pro-consumer and has been among its most vocal advocates. The calendar pressure is severe: if the bill does not clear the Senate Banking Committee before the May 21 Memorial Day recess, the entire process resets, and Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno have both warned that failure before Memorial Day could push the next viable legislative window to 2030 or beyond.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, SEC Chair Paul Atkins, and White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt are all actively backing passage, an alignment across the executive branch that is unusual and gives the bill institutional cover that earlier versions lacked.The White House has set July 4 as its target for a presidential signature.

Democrats, however, are pushing for ethics guardrails. Senators are pushing for ethics provisions related to the Trump family's crypto involvement.Prediction markets currently give the bill a 60% chance of passing this year. A clean committee vote would mark a major step toward cementing US leadership in global digital asset markets.

Sources:
Bitcoin Magazine: Senate Schedules CLARITY Act Markup
US Senate Banking Committee: The Facts on the CLARITY Act
Fortune: The Clarity Act Hits a Critical Juncture