A Revolving Door of Rules Since 2017, the rules governing how US banks can engage with crypto have shifted with each change in administration. Federal banking regulators have cycled through p
Since 2017, the rules governing how US banks can engage with crypto have shifted with each change in administration. Federal banking regulators have cycled through permitting, restricting, and again permitting crypto activities as presidential administrations have changed since 2017, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report. That pattern, the report notes, is precisely why legislation matters. It notes that legislation would result in a more durable outcome, reducing the likelihood of frequent regulatory changes, and that Congress may consider whether a more permanent solution allowing or restricting crypto activities would be preferable.
In the absence of such frameworks, bank regulators have mostly used guidance and a case-by-case approval process to set de facto crypto policy for banks. That approach has left the industry in a state of persistent uncertainty, as each new administration can reverse course without passing a single law. Putting the framework in statute gives it durability beyond the officials currently running the agencies. Rules adopted by today's friendly SEC can be reversed by tomorrow's hostile one, which is why the industry pushed for legislation rather than agency guidance.
The Senate's CLARITY Act, formally the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, was designed to end that cycle. Among its provisions are 11 categories of crypto activity that banks and credit unions would be permitted to carry out, including underwriting and dealing in digital assets. In traditional finance, banks can only do that with a narrow set of instruments such as government debt. The bill would also set rules for when a digital asset falls under the SEC and when it falls under the CFTC, boundaries that today are shaped largely by agency actions and court rulings rather than one federal statute.
The House passed the bill 294-134 in July 2025, followed by a 15-9 vote in the Senate Banking Committee in May 2026. But the bill hit a wall on the Senate floor. That progress stopped on September 15, 2026, when the Senate rejected cloture 49-50, leaving the bill eleven votes short of the 60 required to open floor debate. A motion to reconsider has been filed, keeping the legislation technically alive, though its path forward is unclear.
The main reason for the delay has been the inability of Democrats and Republicans to agree on the rules. Democrats want the bill to include robust ethics, conflict-of-interest, and illicit-finance safeguards, while Republicans want the clarity and certainty for markets and innovation that would come with a bipartisan coalition.
The @congressdotgov report underscores the broader stakes. Without a statutory fix, whoever occupies the White House will continue to set the effective rules for bank crypto activity, and the next administration can undo them just as easily. For an industry that has spent years demanding regulatory certainty, that cycle remains the central problem.
Sources:Banks and Crypto: Congress Weighs Durable Rules Over Shifting Regs (Legis1)CLARITY Act Explained: SEC and CFTC Crypto Rules in 2026 (Datawallet)Banking and Cryptocurrency: Policy Issues, Congressional Research Service (EveryCRSReport)
