CLARITY Act faces delay as House cuts September sessions

The CLARITY Act has faced a new timing obstacle after House Republican leaders canceled eight voting days and scheduled the chamber to leave Washington on Sept. 17.

House calendar leaves little time for the CLARITY Act

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s office informed Republican members that leadership had removed the weeks of Sept. 21 and Sept. 28 from the voting calendar, cutting eight previously scheduled legislative days.

Under the revised schedule, representatives will return after Labor Day for four voting days before leaving Washington on Sept. 17. The chamber is not expected to resume regular legislative work until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

House leaders did not cite the CLARITY Act when announcing the calendar change. Still, the shortened session limits the time available to complete any bill that the Senate alters and sends back to the House.

The House passed its version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, known as H.R. 3633, in 2025. The legislation would divide oversight of the U.S. digital asset market between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission while creating registration rules for crypto trading platforms.

Senators have since worked on their own text, adding provisions that were not part of the measure approved by the House. If the Senate passes an amended bill, the House must accept the changes or the two chambers must negotiate a common version.

Any agreed text would then require approval from both chambers before it could be sent to President Donald Trump. With House members scheduled to leave two days after the Senate’s expected procedural vote, completing every stage in September would leave lawmakers little room for delays.

Senate vote would begin debate, not pass the bill

Senate leaders are expected to hold a cloture vote on Sept. 15 on the motion to proceed to the CLARITY Act. The vote would require support from at least 60 senators and would allow the chamber to begin formal consideration of the legislation.

Clearing cloture would not amount to final Senate passage. Senators could still debate the text, propose amendments, and hold additional procedural votes before voting on the full measure.

As crypto.news previously reported, Solana Policy Institute CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine placed the bill’s chance of becoming law before the midterms at 10%. He cited the limited number of legislative days and unresolved negotiations between senators.

Senate Republicans cannot reach the 60-vote threshold without Democratic support. Negotiations have covered presidential crypto ethics, anti-money laundering requirements, state enforcement powers, decentralized finance and the treatment of stablecoin rewards.

Several Democrats have sought restrictions addressing financial interests held by elected officials and their families. Reuters reported in August that other lawmakers wanted stronger enforcement provisions and added safeguards for illicit-finance risks.

With the House leaving Washington shortly after the cloture vote, any lengthy Senate amendment process could push the next stage beyond the election. The House could return in an emergency, or leaders could change the calendar again, but no such plan has been announced.

Stablecoin rewards remain a key Senate dispute

Stablecoin rewards have become one of the main points of disagreement between banks and crypto companies during the Senate negotiations.

The Senate text would prohibit payments based solely on a customer holding a payment stablecoin balance while allowing certain rewards tied to transactions or other activity. Banks have argued that activity-based incentives could allow crypto platforms to offer bank-like returns without facing the same capital, liquidity, and regulatory requirements as insured depository institutions.

Crypto companies have opposed restrictions that would prevent exchanges and other service providers from sharing revenue with users. Industry representatives have also argued that a strict ban could reduce competition in dollar-backed digital payments.

The dispute follows the passage of the GENIUS Act, which created federal rules for payment stablecoin issuers. Its implementation has left lawmakers and regulators to address how third-party platforms may advertise or distribute rewards connected to stablecoins.

Whitehouse-Levine’s August assessment came as Polymarket traders placed the probability of enactment during 2026 at approximately 20%, with more than $7.2 million wagered on the contract at the time. The market has since fallen to about 17%, according to the prediction platform, although its prices represent traders’ positions rather than a formal legislative forecast.

A separate Polymarket contract places Democrats’ chance of winning the House at about 90% and their chance of taking the Senate at roughly 52%. Prediction-market probabilities can change as traders respond to polling, campaign developments, and congressional action.

If the bill remains unfinished when the current Congress ends, lawmakers will have to restart the process in the next Congress. A post-election lame-duck session could offer another opportunity, but the result of the midterms may affect whether party leaders give the measure floor time.

SEC proceeds with separate crypto rulemaking

SEC Chair Paul Atkins has remained optimistic about the Senate process despite the limited calendar. In a recent public statement, Atkins said he hoped the chamber would advance the legislation within two weeks.

As reported on Sept. 2, Atkins described the bill as part of an effort to establish statutory rules for the U.S. crypto market. Congress, however, would still need to complete each procedural step before Trump could sign it.

The SEC has also started work on rules that do not depend on the CLARITY Act’s passage. In August, the agency proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, a 402-page framework covering token offerings and qualifying investment contracts.

The proposed SEC framework includes two fundraising exemptions. One would allow eligible issuers to raise up to $5 million over 12 months, while another would permit offerings of up to $75 million under added disclosure and investor-protection requirements.

Regulation Crypto Assets also proposes a safe harbor under which qualifying tokens could cease being treated as investment contracts after meeting decentralization and disclosure conditions. Because the proposal remains subject to public comments and possible revisions, it has not created a final exemption for issuers.

The commission is separately preparing guidance known as the Innovation Exemption for tokenized securities. Atkins has said the measure could give companies a regulated route to test blockchain-based financial products, although tokenized stocks and bonds would remain subject to federal securities laws.