Crypto Policy 2026: What to Expect from the CLARITY Act?

Jakarta, Pintu News – In July 2025, when the House of Representatives successfully passed the CLARITY Act, many hoped that there would soon be a comprehensive market and regulatory structure for the crypto space. However, those hopes appear to have been put on hold as the Act is deadlocked in the Senate, with a much-anticipated hearing by the Senate Agriculture Committee postponed until late January.

This delay signals that the political leadership is not yet convinced the bill will get enough votes in the Senate. While Washington D.C. often seems more concerned with scoring political points than effective governance, there are several reasons why the Act is still stalled and several key points in the proposed amendments that will dominate the crypto policy debate until 2026.

Key Components of the CLARITY Act

The CLARITY Act includes several key components that have caused its approval process to stall. First, it divides the crypto market by legally defining which tokens fall under the supervision of the SEC and CFTC. Second, it creates federal rules for crypto exchanges, brokers, and asset custodians, which will also include asset segregation policies and supervisory standards.

The Act aims to replace the rule-making through enforcement paradigm that has dominated the SEC’s approach to the sector until recently. Coinbase’s withdrawal of support for the current version of the Act shows that despite progress, lawmaking for crypto remains a broad and multi-layered issue.

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Broad Crypto Policy

More than 75 amendments have been tabled, showing how wide-ranging the proposed changes to this legislation are. The amendments cover areas such as DeFi, prevention of government corruption, and protection of software developers.

This blanket approach to crypto-related policy has also raised concerns from Galaxy Research, which in its latest report states that the Senate’s latest draft for market structure could be the biggest expansion of financial surveillance powers since the USA PATRIOT ACT.

Proposed new tools that would allow the Treasury to impose special, crypto-specific measures on digital asset transactions, introduce temporary hold mechanisms to freeze transactions almost instantaneously, and explicit expansion of AML obligations could create additional barriers to crypto development, especially DeFi applications.

Stablecoin Treatment Dominates the Dialogue

As many familiar with the market and crypto investment landscape may have predicted, the debate over stablecoins and stablecoin yields is at the center of a heated debate. Following the successful passage of the GENIUS Act, the crypto industry has aggressively moved forward with preparing business plans to offer reward programs for stablecoins.

While stablecoins cannot directly offer yield, certain affiliates and third parties are not prohibited from doing so. The banking lobby, almost from the moment these provisions were widely understood, has been pushing for changes to these rules, even after the legislation was signed into law. This debate has spilled over into the market structure debate, and threatens to derail or at least significantly delay, the passage of this clarifying legislation.

Crypto Policy Pivotal Point

The crypto sector, having experienced a successful 2025 from a policy and adoption perspective, has been actively working to generate additional wins as 2026 begins, with the passage of the market structure bill at the center of this initiative.

As amendments and political maneuvering take over from lobbyists, the importance of this fact cannot be overlooked. Like any other asset class, crypto and crypto-related products and services depend on clear, consistent and enforceable rules to thrive and grow going forward.

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Reference

• Forbes. The Next Steps On Clarity Will Define Crypto Policy In 2026. Accessed on January 21, 2026