Schumer backs ‘good’ crypto bill as CLARITY Act heads to markup

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats want “a good crypto bill” to pass in 2026 as the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, whose May draft removed an ethics provision, goes to a Senate Banking Committee markup on May 14 and is targeted for a floor vote in June or July.

The comment comes after the GENIUS Act passed the Senate in 2025 by a 68–30 vote, with 18 Democrats joining Republicans. That bill, which set rules for stablecoins, was signed into law in July 2025. Attention has shifted to CLARITY, which aims to cover a broader set of digital assets.

The CLARITY Act would define which tokens qualify as securities and which are commodities, and would assign primary regulatory oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The bill’s framework would affect exchanges, token projects and institutional firms operating in the United States by changing compliance, trading and custody rules.

A major point of contention in the May draft is the removal of an ethics provision that Democrats had sought. The deleted provision would have prohibited senior government officials, including the president, from profiting from crypto markets while overseeing regulation. Several Democratic senators responded to the deletion by calling the bill “dead on arrival” without such a safeguard.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, one of the architects of the GENIUS Act, has said CLARITY cannot advance unless the ethics language is restored. Other Democrats have described the restoration of that provision as a condition for their support.

Separately, the bill includes a yield compromise that bans stablecoin yields that mirror bank deposit rates while allowing certain “bona fide activities.” Coinbase and Circle publicly supported that change and urged the Senate Banking Committee to move the bill forward after the yield agreement was reached.

Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott has set the markup for May 14 and has told colleagues he expects a committee-approved version to reach the Senate floor in June or July. Committee sessions will consider amendments and negotiate language on jurisdiction, market conduct and consumer protections.

Lawmakers and industry participants say the committee debates will determine the bill’s final structure and whether CLARITY can follow the GENIUS Act into law. The outcome will shape how federal regulators apply rules across the broader crypto market.