Voters Back CLARITY Act; 70% Say US Needs Crypto Law

A Harrisx national survey of 2,008 registered voters conducted May 1–4, 2026 found 52% backed the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act after reading a neutral summary, while 11% opposed it. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 2.2 percentage points. Seventy percent of respondents said the United States should already have passed clear cryptocurrency legislation.

Support for the CLARITY Act extended across party lines. Republicans, Democrats and independents backed the bill by wide margins after reviewing the policy summary. Backing was strongest among cryptocurrency owners, voters familiar with digital assets and respondents who had previously heard of the bill. Overall awareness remained limited: 64% said they had not heard of CLARITY before the survey. Harrisx noted, “52% support the CLARITY Act after a neutral description; 11% oppose. Support is bipartisan, and the persuadable middle is large.”

The survey found 39% of voters said they were familiar with digital assets and blockchain technology, while 61% were not. Two in five respondents said they have purchased cryptocurrency at some point, and 30% had bought crypto in the past year. Familiarity and ownership skewed toward men and voters under 35.

Only about one-third of respondents knew eight of the 10 largest cryptocurrency exchanges are based outside the United States. After learning that fact, 46% said crypto trading beyond U.S. oversight is at least somewhat problematic, while 13% described it as fine or good.

The CLARITY Act would clarify whether the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversees different digital assets. The bill would also create registration rules for exchanges and custodians and set consumer protection standards for the industry. The poll report added, “A 70% majority say the U.S. should already have passed clear cryptocurrency legislation, and 62% say it is important that the U.S. set the global rules for digital finance.”

National security was the most persuasive argument for passing the legislation in the poll. Fifty-six percent of voters said future digital payment systems built and controlled outside the United States would weaken U.S. national security. More than two in five respondents said foreign-issued stablecoins becoming dominant would weaken the global role of the U.S. dollar. When asked which argument best supported CLARITY, 23% chose preserving the dollar and the central role of U.S. payment systems, 17% selected law enforcement and illicit finance concerns, and 16% chose consumer protection and fraud prevention.

The survey also found potential electoral consequences for lawmakers. Thirty-seven percent of voters said they would be more likely to support a senator who voted for CLARITY, compared with 17% who said they would be less likely, a net 20-point benefit. Forty-seven percent said they would consider voting outside their preferred party if a candidate supported CLARITY and their party did not. Overall, 52% of respondents said a candidate’s position on cryptocurrency regulation would be at least somewhat important to their 2026 midterm vote; that share rose to 78% among crypto owners.

Harrisx released the findings as the Senate Banking Committee scheduled an executive session for May 14 to consider the CLARITY Act, the first formal committee debate that could determine whether the bill advances to a full Senate vote.