# The CLARITY Act: where it stands and what it means for businesses using stablecoins

The CLARITY Act is a US crypto market structure bill, not a law. It passed the House in July 2025, and a Senate vote to start debate failed 49 to 50 on 15 September 2026. If your company holds or pays with stablecoins, plan around the GENIUS Act's dates, and treat CLARITY as something to watch.

By Pavel Skalin, Founder & CEO, Align · Updated 6 November 2026 · 8 min read · https://alignlabs.dev/guides/clarity-act-for-businesses

## Key takeaways

1. The CLARITY Act isn't law. As of 6 November 2026 it has passed the House but not the Senate, where a vote to start debate failed 49 to 50 on 15 September 2026.
2. It's a bill about who regulates crypto tokens and trading. The GENIUS Act is the stablecoin law, and it's already enacted, so plan around its dates.
3. The Senate text we read is aimed at token issuers, intermediaries, banks and regulators, not at companies that only hold or pay with stablecoins. Most of any effect on you would come through your US platforms and banks.
4. That text's ban on yield for holding stablecoins applies to payments to US customers only: a company organized and resident outside the US wouldn't be covered by it.

## Where the CLARITY Act stands

**As of 6 November 2026, the CLARITY Act isn't law.** The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, H.R. 3633, passed the House in July 2025. On 15 September 2026 the Senate voted 49 to 50 on ending debate on whether to take the bill up, 11 short of the 60 needed, so the Senate never debated or voted on the bill itself. Senator Tillis entered a motion to reconsider that vote. The Senate's calendar for 5 November still lists the bill and that motion, and shows no agreement scheduling another vote.

If your company holds or pays with stablecoins, nothing has changed because of this bill. The US stablecoin law to plan around today is the [GENIUS Act](https://alignlabs.dev/guides/genius-act-for-non-us-businesses).

This guide explains the bill and its effect on business payments. It isn't legal or investment advice, and it doesn't cover token prices.

## Key dates

| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 17 July 2025 | House passes H.R. 3633, 294 to 134 |
| 18 September 2025 | Received in the Senate and referred to the Banking Committee |
| 14 May 2026 | Senate Banking Committee orders it reported with a substitute text, 15 to 9 |
| 1 June 2026 | Text reported; bill placed on the Senate calendar as No. 423 |
| August 2026 | Motion to proceed made; cloture motion presented |
| 15 September 2026 | Cloture rejected, 49 to 50 (Vote No. 234); motion to reconsider entered |
| 5 November 2026 | Latest Senate calendar we could read: bill and motion still listed |

**What we could and couldn't confirm.** Congress.gov and the Senate's roll call pages weren't reachable when we wrote this, so we used official records on GovInfo: the bill status file, last updated on 17 September 2026 and showing 15 September as the latest action; the Congressional Record for 15 September; and the Senate's Calendar of Business for 5 November. The Senate didn't meet on 6 November: the Congressional Record shows it adjourned on 5 November until 9 November, with a different bill, H.R. 2347, scheduled for that day. We also couldn't read the revised text sponsors released just before the vote, so every section reference below is to the text reported on 1 June 2026, and the revised text may differ. The 15 to 9 committee count comes from Latham & Watkins' tracker, not an official record.

## What the bill would do

The bill would set out which crypto tokens fall under the SEC and which under the CFTC, and how they can be sold and traded in the US. The House text would also bar Federal Reserve banks from offering certain services directly to individuals and from using a central bank digital currency for monetary policy. The Senate Banking text leaves those provisions out, though the bill's long title still mentions them.

There are two main texts, and they differ.

- **The House text** creates "digital commodities" and has the CFTC register exchanges, brokers and dealers that trade them.
- **The Senate Banking text** replaces it with nine titles on token offerings at the SEC, illicit finance, decentralized finance, banking, software developers and customer property in bankruptcy. It refers to CFTC-registered intermediaries but doesn't contain a title setting up their registration. The Senate Agriculture Committee's separate bill on CFTC authority, S. 3755, is also on the Senate calendar, and the two would have needed combining.

## How it relates to the GENIUS Act

| | GENIUS Act | CLARITY Act |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Law since 18 July 2025 | Bill; not passed by the Senate |
| Covers | Payment stablecoin issuers and the platforms offering them in the US | Token offerings, trading markets and intermediaries |
| Main regulators | OCC, Federal Reserve, FDIC, Treasury and state regulators | SEC and CFTC, with Treasury on illicit finance |
| Dates | Takes effect 18 January 2027; US platform limit from 18 July 2028 | None set |
| Stablecoin yield | Issuers can't pay it | Reported text extends a ban to service providers and affiliates paying US persons |

The two fit together. The House text excludes permitted payment stablecoins from its definition of a digital commodity, and the Senate text borrows GENIUS's definitions of payment stablecoin, issuer and digital asset service provider. Note the word "permitted": that exclusion is for stablecoins from issuers qualified under GENIUS, so whether a token qualifies still turns on that Act.

## What it would change if the reported text passed

This table reads the 1 June Senate text from the position of a company that holds or pays with stablecoins. None of it applies today.

| If your company... | Reported text | What to do now |
|---|---|---|
| Holds USDC or USDT in its treasury | We found no new duty on you in the text itself, but see Section 307 below | Nothing yet; track the [GENIUS dates](https://alignlabs.dev/guides/genius-act-for-non-us-businesses) |
| Earns rewards on a stablecoin balance | Section 404 bars yield for merely holding, paid to US persons by service providers and affiliates, with civil penalties of up to $5 million per knowing and willful violation. A US person means a US resident or a company organized in the US. Rewards for bona fide activity stay allowed if they aren't equivalent to deposit interest | Check which of your entities holds the balance: a US subsidiary would be covered. See [earning yield on USDC](https://alignlabs.dev/guides/earn-yield-on-usdc) |
| Uses a US exchange or broker | Section 201 puts CFTC-registered digital commodity brokers, dealers and exchanges under the Bank Secrecy Act, with customer identification and suspicious activity monitoring | Keep your [KYB documents](https://alignlabs.dev/guides/business-account-kyb-documents) current |
| Needs a payment to arrive on time | Section 305 shields issuers and service providers from private lawsuits when they voluntarily hold a transaction for up to 30 days, extendable by 150 on a law enforcement request. It doesn't limit holds on wallets outside the US | Allow slack on large payments and screen counterparties' wallets |
| Relies on US banks in a higher-risk corridor | Section 303 lets Treasury prohibit or restrict transfers by US financial institutions involving a foreign jurisdiction, institution or class of transactions of primary money laundering concern tied to digital assets | Know which corridors depend on a US institution, and have a second route |
| Uses a stablecoin from an issuer outside GENIUS | Section 304 requires Treasury reports on illicit finance risk in "United States-dependent offshore stablecoins". It's a report, not a ban | Watch the 18 July 2028 GENIUS date, which has real effect |
| Keeps stablecoins in its own wallet | Section 605 protects self-custody wallets, but only for US individuals, so a company isn't covered | Nothing changes for you |
| Moves stablecoins into or out of the US | Section 307 would add digital assets to the Bank Secrecy Act's definition of monetary instruments, where Treasury provides by regulation. That definition feeds rules such as cross-border reporting above $10,000, which apply to any person, so the effect would depend on what Treasury writes | Ask US counsel whether this could reach you |

If your company issues tokens or runs a venue serving US customers, this table isn't enough: Title I and the CFTC provisions are aimed at you, so ask US counsel.

## When it could take effect

The reported text takes effect 360 days after enactment. A provision that needs a rule takes effect on the later of that date or 60 days after the final rule is published, and regulators have a year to write most rules.

As an illustration, not a forecast: a bill signed on 31 December 2026 couldn't take effect before 26 December 2027, and the yield ban would wait for its joint rule as well. GENIUS takes effect on 18 January 2027, about 11 months sooner. Whatever happens to CLARITY, GENIUS comes first.

## What happens next

Four steps remain: 60 Senate votes to begin, Senate passage, House agreement to the Senate's changes, and the President's signature. A Congress lasts two years, so the current one has until January 2027.

Views differ on what happens now. The House Financial Services and Agriculture chairs said on 15 September that only Congress can give lasting certainty and that they'll keep working with the Senate. Troutman Pepper Locke says the failed vote effectively ends the bill's prospects in this Congress. Debate on the floor turned largely on ethics limits on officials' crypto interests, and both sides' arguments are in the Congressional Record.

Regulators aren't waiting, but their work concerns tokens and markets, not stablecoin payments:

- **SEC.** It proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, with offering exemptions and a conditional safe harbor. Comments closed on 20 October 2026. It's a proposal, not a final rule.
- **CFTC.** On 13 October 2026 it published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on crypto asset transactions and markets, under its existing authority. Comments are open until 14 December 2026. It's an early step, not a proposed rule. In August, Chairman Selig said he'd prefer Congress to act.

For the rest of the world's stablecoin rules, see [stablecoin regulation by country](https://alignlabs.dev/guides/stablecoin-regulation-by-country).

## How this works with Align

Align isn't a bank and doesn't issue stablecoins. We support USDC, USDT and EURC, and we'll update this guide if the bill moves. Today you can hold stablecoins in a [stablecoin business account](https://alignlabs.dev/accounts/stablecoin-business-account) next to a [USD account in your company's name](https://alignlabs.dev/accounts/usd-business-account), and pay over bank rails. Align serves registered companies only, and doesn't onboard companies in sanctioned countries or on the FATF grey list.

## Sources

- GovInfo, [Bill status file for H.R. 3633](https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/hr/BILLSTATUS-119hr3633.xml) (last updated 17 September 2026)
- GovInfo, [H.R. 3633 as reported in the Senate](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-119hr3633rs/html/BILLS-119hr3633rs.htm) (1 June 2026) and [as passed by the House](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-119hr3633eh/html/BILLS-119hr3633eh.htm) (July 2025)
- GovInfo, [Congressional Record, Senate, 15 September 2026](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2026-09-15/pdf/CREC-2026-09-15-senate.pdf)
- GovInfo, [Senate Calendar of Business, 5 November 2026](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CCAL-119scal-2026-11-05/pdf/CCAL-119scal-2026-11-05.pdf)
- GovInfo, [Congressional Record, Daily Digest, 5 November 2026](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2026-11-05/pdf/CREC-2026-11-05-dailydigest.pdf)
- GovInfo, [How Our Laws Are Made](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDOC-110hdoc49/html/CDOC-110hdoc49.htm)
- GovInfo, [Public Law 119-27](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ27/html/PLAW-119publ27.htm) (GENIUS Act text)
- GovInfo, [31 U.S.C. 5312](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title31/html/USCODE-2024-title31-subtitleIV-chap53-subchapII-sec5312.htm) and [31 U.S.C. 5316](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title31/html/USCODE-2024-title31-subtitleIV-chap53-subchapII-sec5316.htm)
- House Financial Services Committee, [Joint statement by Chairmen Hill and Thompson](https://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=411233) (15 September 2026)
- SEC, [Regulation Crypto Assets, proposed rule](https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/proposed/2026/33-11434.pdf) (August 2026)
- CFTC, [Remarks of Chairman Selig](https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/opaselig10) (20 August 2026)
- CFTC, [Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets, advance notice of proposed rulemaking](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/13/2026-20888/regulation-crypto-asset-transactions-and-regulation-crypto-asset-markets) (Federal Register, 13 October 2026)
- Latham & Watkins, [US Crypto Policy Tracker](https://www.lw.com/en/us-crypto-policy-tracker/legislative-developments) (August 2026)
- Troutman Pepper Locke, [In the wake of CLARITY Act's failure](https://www.troutman.com/insights/in-the-wake-of-clarity-acts-failure-agencies-move-forward-without-congressional-action-or-certainty/) (25 September 2026)

## Common questions

### Did the CLARITY Act pass?

No. The House passed it 294 to 134 on 17 July 2025, but the Senate hasn't. On 15 September 2026 the Senate rejected cloture on the motion to proceed, 49 to 50, with 60 votes needed. As of the Senate's calendar for 5 November 2026 the bill was still on the calendar, not passed, and it hasn't become law.

### When will the CLARITY Act be voted on?

No date is set in the official records we could read. The Senate's calendar for 5 November 2026 shows no agreement scheduling another vote on H.R. 3633. It does list Senator Tillis's motion to reconsider the failed vote as not yet acted on, which leaves a route back to that vote.

### Will the CLARITY Act pass?

We don't forecast that. It would need 60 Senate votes to start debate, passage by the Senate, House agreement to the Senate's changes and the President's signature. The two House committee chairs say they'll keep working on it with the Senate; the law firm Troutman Pepper Locke says the failed vote effectively ends its prospects in this Congress.

### What's the difference between the CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act?

The GENIUS Act is a law, signed on 18 July 2025, that regulates payment stablecoin issuers and the platforms offering their tokens in the US. The CLARITY Act is a bill that would divide oversight of other crypto tokens and their markets between the SEC and the CFTC. The House text excludes permitted payment stablecoins from its definition of a digital commodity.

### Would the CLARITY Act ban stablecoin rewards?

Partly, and only for US customers, in the text the Senate Banking Committee reported on 1 June 2026. Digital asset service providers and their affiliates couldn't pay US persons yield solely for holding payment stablecoins, or in a way equivalent to interest on a bank deposit. Rewards for bona fide activity, such as transactions, would stay allowed if they aren't equivalent to deposit interest. None of this is law.

### Does the CLARITY Act apply to a company outside the US?

It isn't law, so it doesn't apply to anyone. If the text reported in the Senate passed unchanged, a company that only holds or pays with stablecoins would mostly feel it through US intermediaries: tighter onboarding, possible temporary holds and limits on some transfers. A company issuing tokens or running a trading venue for US customers should ask US counsel.

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This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and providers' terms change; check the sources linked above and take advice on your own situation.

## Related guides

- [The GENIUS Act: what non-US businesses need to know](https://alignlabs.dev/guides/genius-act-for-non-us-businesses)
- [Stablecoin regulation by country in 2026: EU, US, UK, UAE, Hong Kong and Singapore](https://alignlabs.dev/guides/stablecoin-regulation-by-country)
- [Where a business can earn yield on USDC and USDT, and what the risks are](https://alignlabs.dev/guides/earn-yield-on-usdc)
- [USDT vs USDC for business payments: which to hold and which to send](https://alignlabs.dev/guides/usdt-vs-usdc-for-business)