The U.S. Senate risks not passing the CLARITY Act as early as April. The law, which is supposed to set general rules for the digital asset market, may be pushed back at least until May.
Amid pressure from traditional financial companies, Senator Thom Tillis is actively pushing the leadership of the banking committee to delay the advancement of the document.
Because of this, what was recently considered almost a done deal by the end of April is now turning into a test for Congress. Will lawmakers manage to approve comprehensive rules for the crypto market before the election calendar effectively halts work?
The stakes for the industry are much higher than just deadlines. CLARITY Act is considered a key bill that should finally determine who is responsible for what in the digital asset market. This concerns trading platforms, token issuers, and spot markets, where regulators have been arguing about authority for years.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives already passed its version of the law in July 2025. At that time, the document was supported by 294 votes to 134.
But in the Senate, the process has stalled on a narrow but important issue. Lawmakers cannot agree on whether crypto platforms should have the right to offer users rewards that are essentially similar to interest on stablecoins.
GENIUS Act and the Debate Over Stablecoin Yield
The current deadlock around the law is largely related to another document: the GENIUS Act.
It was signed on July 18, 2025. The law set basic rules for payment stablecoins and required them to be backed by reserves at a one-to-one ratio with fiat.
But the key question remained open. The law did not give a clear answer as to whether third-party services or affiliated platforms can offer yield products to stablecoin holders.
This uncertainty is now holding up the adoption of the CLARITY Act.
Essentially, lawmakers are deciding what the stablecoin model will be. Either it is simply a payment instrument without yield, or a base for financial products with earning opportunities for users.
Additional tension was brought by fresh data from the Trump administration.
On April 8, the White House Council of Economic Advisers published a report that directly challenges the banks’ arguments.
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The banking lobby has long argued that yield-bearing stablecoins could pull money out of the traditional system and deprive banks of deposits.
But calculations by the CEA show otherwise. A total ban on yield would increase bank lending by only $2.1 billion. That’s about 0.02%.
At the same time, for users, such a ban would mean $800 million in losses.
Moreover, small banks would account for about $500 million in additional lending in the base scenario.
Based on this data, the White House concludes: a strict yield ban would do almost nothing to help the banking system, but would hurt users.
Traditional Banks Are Not Backing Down
Despite the administration’s conclusions, the banking lobby is not changing its stance.
The American Bankers Association, together with regional organizations including the North Carolina Bankers Association, is actively pressuring Congress. They are demanding a total ban on any incentives for stablecoin holders.
Moreover, in their view, the restrictions should apply everywhere. It does not matter whether the reward is paid by the token issuer itself or by an exchange or partner platform.
Recently, the ABA even bought ad space in major publications like Politico. In these materials, readers are directly urged to contact their representatives in Congress and close the so-called ‘stablecoin loophole’ in the CLARITY Act.
The message is quite tough. Crypto initiatives are presented as a threat to the traditional banking system, especially for local credit organizations.
The main goal of such pressure is to secure the role of stablecoins as an ordinary payment instrument and protect the classic lending model based on deposits.
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Banks argue that if crypto companies are allowed to offer yield on tokens pegged to the dollar, it will create an uneven playing field. Money may start leaving banks, especially if the yield is higher than on regular deposits.
The crypto industry sees it differently. There, such rewards are considered a key tool for attracting users. According to industry representatives, a total ban would only cement the banks’ monopoly on earning yield.
The situation increasingly resembles the deadlock that occurred in February. At that time, a meeting at the White House between bankers and crypto industry representatives ended without result, despite attempts to find a compromise.
Now the tension is spilling into the public sphere.
The vice president of government relations at investment crypto company Paradigm Alexander Grieve directly accused the banking sector of playing dirty.
“They just want to kill CLARITY. And if they can drag it out to the deadline, they will,” he said.
A similar position was previously expressed by the executive director of the White House Crypto Council Patrick Witt. On social media, he called the pressure from traditional finance the result of ‘greed or misunderstanding.’
The Senate’s Tight Calendar Could Derail the Law’s Passage
Head of research at Galaxy Alex Thorn noted:
“The delay in the banking committee increases the risk that CLARITY will not pass in 2026. Every week squeezes the time needed to go through all the stages. But if the vote takes place in May and gets strong bipartisan support, it’s not yet critical.”
If Senator Tillis and the banking lobby really push the process to May, it won’t kill the law directly, but it will leave almost no room for error.
The problem is the calendar. In early May, senators are scheduled to work in their districts from the 4th to the 8th. This automatically pushes the law’s consideration to the middle of the month.
After that, there is even less time. From May 25 to 29 there is another recess, then a break for Juneteenth and a two-week vacation from the end of June to July 10.
After that, the situation becomes even more complicated. On August 10, the Senate goes on a five-week recess, and then attention fully switches to the election campaign.
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For such a complex law, that’s critically little. It still needs to pass the committee, get time for floor discussion, and be reconciled with the version previously passed by the House of Representatives.
Markets are already pricing in these risks. On the Polymarket platform, the probability of CLARITY passing this year is estimated at about 48%. In February, this figure reached 82%.
New delays are adding extra pressure. The updated version of the bill was again not submitted on time.
As a result, the CLARITY Act risks entering May not as a breakthrough for the crypto industry, but as an unfinished law stuck in a standoff with the banking sector.
