CLARITY Act and the SEC/CFTC Rules: Where Things Stand

The CLARITY Act has no scheduled Senate vote. Its last procedural attempt failed on September 15, when the Senate rejected cloture 49–50, short of the 60 votes needed [2]. Meanwhile, the SEC and the CFTC are advancing their own rules for crypto markets. House Financial Services Chair French Hill says those rules "fall short" of the permanent changes the bill would make [3]. Here is where each piece stands, as of October 14, 2026.

Where the bill stands

The CLARITY Act (H.R. 3633) passed the House in July 2025 with bipartisan support [1]. In the Senate, the vote on September 15 rejected the motion to proceed. Every voting Democrat opposed it, and Republicans Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Jerry Moran and Thom Tillis voted no. Tillis's vote keeps the bill procedurally alive, because it lets him file a motion to reconsider [2].

The sticking points are mainly political and ethical. Democrats want restrictions on crypto interests held by officeholders, covering the sitting president, future presidents and members of Congress. Reuters reported that Trump disclosed more than $1.4 billion of 2025 income from family crypto ventures, and the White House agreed to some ethics provisions that Democrats considered insufficient [2]. Senator Cynthia Lummis also said Democrats demanded that exchanges prove they can access and transfer customers' private keys. She notes that requirement is in the Senate version but not the House version [3].

Negotiations have not stopped. Seven Democratic senators issued a joint statement on September 16 committing to continued bipartisan talks [2]. Senator Angela Alsobrooks said negotiators were close to a deal before Republican leadership ended talks just before the vote [2]. Lummis has blamed Democrats for the failure, a framing Democrats dispute.

Timing

The Senate returns to legislative business on November 9. One analysis expects the bill to be unlikely to advance this session, and says it would need to be reintroduced after the new Congress convenes in January 2027 [1]. Hill is more hopeful. He told Fox Business he still hopes Congress can pass the bill in the lame-duck session, before the new Congress begins [3]. Stablecoin rewards are also a live issue: Cointelegraph reported in August that the bill would add restrictions on crypto companies offering stablecoin rewards, which is the same battleground covered in our staking article [4].

The SEC: Regulation Crypto Assets

In August 2026 the SEC proposed two Securities Act exemptions for crypto-related investment contracts [1]:

• A startup exemption for one-time offerings of up to $5 million over four years.
• A fundraising exemption for offerings of up to $75 million in each 12-month period, with financial statements and ongoing reporting.
• A conditional safe harbor. A crypto asset that meets the conditions would no longer be treated as subject to an investment contract.

Both exemptions rely on principles-based disclosure and remain subject to antifraud provisions. The proposal would also preempt certain state registration requirements. Comments are due October 20, 2026 [1].

In September the SEC also gave temporary, conditional relief to tokenized securities venues. It lets them trade tokenized versions of NMS stocks, and exempts certain liquidity providers from the dealer definition. The relief runs through September 17, 2031, and includes limits on symbols and volume [1]. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has linked the innovation exemption to the bill's failure [1].

The CFTC: retail crypto trading

On October 5, the CFTC released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on retail crypto asset transactions. It contemplates a Regulation CTX and a Regulation CAM, creating an optional federal framework that includes a "crypto asset market" designation for designated contract markets [1].

• On-exchange trading for retail leverage. Retail leveraged, margined or financed trades would have to happen on-exchange, until the customer takes actual delivery of the asset.
• No mandate without Congress. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig has said the agency cannot impose a mandatory CFTC-platform requirement without Congress [1].
• Not final. As of October 7 the notice had not been published in the Federal Register. Comments are due 60 days after publication [1].

What the rules can't do

Agency rules are not statute. A future administration or Congress can change them, and the CFTC has said as much about its own limits. That is the core of Hill's objection: the rules can move things forward, but only the bill would make the changes permanent [3]. For a fund or an investor, the practical question is how long the framework stays in place, and that depends on Congress.

What to watch

• October 20. SEC comment deadline on Regulation Crypto Assets.
• The Federal Register. Publication of the CFTC notice starts its 60-day comment clock.
• November 9. The Senate returns. Watch for a new cloture filing or a motion to reconsider.
• The lame-duck session. Whether ethics and private-key language can close before the new Congress.

We did not find a new SEC or CFTC action dated this week, so the newest developments here are from early October. We'll update this piece when the next action lands.