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CLARITY Act
Legislation

CLARITY Act

Senate crypto market structure bill; stalled after Democrats inserted Trump family ethics clause.

Last refreshed: 12 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic

Key Question

Will the Trump family ethics clause kill the CLARITY Act before the May Senate deadline?

Timeline for CLARITY Act

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Common Questions
What is the CLARITY Act crypto bill and why has it stalled?
The CLARITY Act establishes a regulatory framework for Cryptocurrency. It stalled after Democrats inserted an ethics clause barring government officials from profiting from crypto while in office, delaying the Senate Banking Committee markup.Source: event
Why did Democrats add a Trump family ethics clause to the crypto bill?
The Trump family holds substantial Cryptocurrency interests. Democrats inserted a provision barring officials and their families from profiting from crypto while in office, targeting those interests directly.Source: event
What happens to crypto legislation if the CLARITY Act misses the May Senate deadline?
Missing the May floor Deadline effectively kills the CLARITY Act until after the 2026 midterms, as the Senate legislative calendar cannot accommodate its revival. The crypto industry's million political investment would have failed to produce legislation.Source: event

Background

The CLARITY Act is the Senate's principal Cryptocurrency market structure legislation, establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets. Its PATH to the floor collapsed in April 2026 after Democratic senators inserted an ethics provision barring government officials and their family members from profiting from Cryptocurrency while in office. The clause targeted the Trump family's substantial crypto holdings, causing the Senate Banking Committee markup to be delayed to late April .

The bill had been advancing with strong industry backing coordinated through the Fairshake super PAC. FEC filing timestamps showed Andreessen Horowitz contributing $47.6 million to Fairshake five weeks before the Senate Banking Committee's January 2026 markup. If the Senate misses a May floor Deadline, the bill is effectively dead until after the midterms, as the compressed legislative calendar cannot accommodate its revival .

The CLARITY Act is one of two major crypto bills moving in parallel, alongside the GENIUS Act for stablecoins. The crypto industry's $272 million midterm investment is largely contingent on passage of both. The ethics clause standoff illustrates the collision between the industry's scale of political spending and the political liabilities of the Trump family's crypto business interests.