A significant milestone occurred for U.S. cryptocurrency as the House of Representatives passed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, laying down regulatory groundwork for the sector. However, before the impact of the remarkable 308-122 vote could fade, the Senate was already crafting a separate yet similar bill poised to gain considerable attention.
Just as President Donald Trump urged House lawmakers to support the Senate’s stablecoin bill without alterations, it’s likely that any market structure legislation overcoming the Senate’s challenging 60-vote threshold will be a well-negotiated compromise that the administration expects the House to approve without modifications.
Throughout the evolution of cryptocurrency policy in the U.S., the House has often taken the initiative to draft legislation, while the Senate has posed more challenges. This dynamic hasn’t deterred influential House Republicans like Majority Whip Tom Emmer and House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill from encouraging the Senate to adopt their Clarity Act and pass it as is.
“The Senate must finish the job on America’s pro-crypto future and pass the CLARITY Act,” stated Emmer, a Republican from Minnesota, in a post on X last week. If the Senate were to approve the House bill without alterations, it would head directly to Trump’s desk.
Nevertheless, Senate lawmakers who advocate for crypto have their own plans and are working on a strategy that garners sufficient Democratic support, ensuring the finalized bill—regardless of its name—receives a robust boost of backing in the final Senate vote before being sent to the House for potential approval.
Here are the steps necessary for U.S. crypto firms to be officially and completely regulated in the United States:
- Senators from both parties finalize writing and amending the bill, a process that could extend into next month for the Senate Agriculture Committee — one of the two committees that must approve it.
- Both the Senate Banking Committee and Agriculture Committee vote to advance the legislation for a floor vote.
- An amended version then undergoes consideration by the full Senate, where a 60-vote majority is generally required for passage.
- If approved, the bill is presented for a vote in the House, which has already overwhelmingly supported the similar Clarity Act.
- Upon gaining approval in the House, the bill awaits President Trump’s signature — an outcome that Senator Cynthia Lummis suggested likely won’t occur before the year concludes.
- Subsequent to this, implementation will begin among various federal agencies tasked with writing the actual regulations the industry must adhere to, a process known to take years before final rules are established.
Like the Clarity Act, the Senate bill aims to delineate clear distinctions between digital asset classifications and the regulatory agencies overseeing them. While the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS) is already law for stablecoin regulation, the upcoming bill is expected to address much of the broader industry and likely elevate the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to a pivotal role within the crypto landscape.
So far in the Senate’s legislative process, the public has only encountered a detailed, 182-page discussion draft released by Republicans. It has yet to be formally introduced, but Banking Committee members have indicated they wish to reach the amendment stage within a few weeks and schedule a committee vote. (However, this process may encounter hurdles, as Republican Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana has expressed concerns that it’s not ready yet.)
Furthermore, adding to the usual complexities of Senate operations, both parties are currently experiencing what could escalate into a tense standoff regarding the U.S. spending plan, with a government shutdown looming if no compromise can be reached. The Senate’s nature often means it operates on a one-issue-at-a-time basis.
“I don’t want to impose an artificial deadline on anything, as we’re in the midst of negotiations about whether we’re going to achieve a bipartisan budget,” remarked Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat who has long championed bipartisan crypto legislation. “Thus, the most pressing matter that Congress must tackle right now is the fiscal cliff.”
She noted that this negotiation “is going to take up much of people’s time,” during a CoinDesk event in Washington last week.
Once a crypto bill passes the Senate, Trump’s recent crypto advisor, Patrick Witt, mentioned in an interview with CoinDesk that the White House expects it to have been drafted in close collaboration with House lawmakers and should therefore be approved as is by that chamber.
However, even if the much-anticipated market structure legislation becomes law by late 2025, it then initiates what may be an even longer process for interpretation and translation into new regulations that will govern the sector via multiple federal agencies. Regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission, CFTC, and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will need to analyze their requirements and determine compliance—an undertaking that will involve proposals and public commentary.
The typical rulemaking process can take one to two years, even if it isn’t overly complex or contentious. Given that this is a new regulatory domain with heightened public interest compared to some obscure securities regulation revisions, the volume of comments is expected to be extensive.
The last time U.S. financial regulators tackled a large-scale project involving multiple new regulatory areas was in response to the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, and there remains one critical component of that law yet to be enforced by regulators.
At best, the U.S. regulatory framework may not begin to finalize regulations until deep into 2026, and new financial standards historically come with an implementation period of one to two years before compliance is mandated.
The Clarity Act was essentially just a starting signal.
Read More: Father of Crypto Bills, French Hill, Says Market Structure Effort Should Tweak GENIUS
