What is the Clarity Act, and has it passed?

What is the Clarity Act?

The Clarity Act is a US proposal to set rules for issuing and trading crypto-assets. It would determine which regulator oversees an asset and what exchanges, brokers and token issuers must do. For a customer, that concerns the information available before a trade and how an exchange handles customer assets. Its full name is the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, numbered H.R. 3633.

The proposal addresses a practical question: when a business offers a token or operates a crypto trading platform in the US, which rules must it follow? The answer affects registration, disclosures and the way the business deals with customers. As of 26 October 2026, the Clarity Act had not become law.

What would change for exchanges and customers?

The version passed by the House of Representatives shows what market-structure rules mean in practice. These examples describe the House proposal, rather than a final agreement with the Senate.

Which tokens an exchange can trade

An exchange trading assets classed as digital commodities would generally have to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). A digital commodity is the bill's category for a crypto-asset linked to a blockchain's operation and use. Before making a token available, the exchange would have to meet trading and listing requirements. Registration of the business and the conditions for trading a particular token are separate parts of the proposal.

What a customer can find out about a token

Exchanges would have to make public information available about the digital commodities they trade. That includes the blockchain's program code, how to examine its transaction history, and how the token is created and used. For someone researching an unfamiliar token, the practical difference is access to information about how it works, rather than only a trading price.

How an exchange handles customer assets

As a main rule, an exchange would have to keep customer assets separate from its own, with specified exceptions. The House version also sets rules for conflicts of interest and restricts an exchange trading for its own account against customers. These provisions concern what the exchange may do with assets entrusted to it and how it conducts its business.

Why does the split between the SEC and CFTC matter?

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the US securities regulator. The CFTC regulates commodity derivatives markets. The House version would give the CFTC responsibility for much of the trading in digital commodities. The SEC would retain responsibilities for securities and certain other activities.

The distinction matters because the applicable regime determines which agency a business registers with and which disclosure and conduct duties it must meet. It does not mean that every crypto-asset would be treated the same way.

Has the Clarity Act passed?

As of 26 October 2026, it had passed the House but had not become law:

• The House passed the bill on 17 July 2025.
• The Senate Banking Committee reported a rewritten version on 1 June 2026.
• On 15 September 2026, a Senate procedural vote to advance debate failed, and a motion to reconsider was entered. That was a vote about proceeding to the measure, rather than a final vote on passing the bill.

The versions differ in substance. For example, the Senate text takes a different approach to information from token issuers, using a category called ancillary assets. The House examples above therefore do not establish what an eventual law would require.

How does it differ from the GENIUS Act and MiCA?

The GENIUS Act became US Public Law 119-27 on 18 July 2025 and concerns payment stablecoins. The Clarity Act is the broader US crypto market-structure proposal. The stablecoin explainer covers what a currency-linked token does and the GENIUS Act's separate subject.

In the EU, MiCA already sets rules for crypto-assets and services within its scope, including trading and custody services. The Clarity Act concerns the US market and would not replace that EU framework. For a European reader following US crypto news, the useful distinction is which market a rule governs and whether it is already law. MiCA regulation explains the European framework in more detail.