Lummis: Senate Inaction Could Stall CLARITY Act Until 2030

Sen. Cynthia Lummis warned that Senate inaction and a dispute over stablecoin yield rules and regulatory jurisdiction could push the CLARITY Act off the legislative calendar until 2030. She urged colleagues to finalize the bill during the current congressional window before priorities shift in the 2026 election cycle. The CLARITY Act would set federal rules for digital assets, including stablecoins and decentralized finance.

Negotiators remain split over which agency should oversee tokenized securities and derivatives — the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — and over whether to allow passive yields on stablecoins. The bill’s draft would prohibit passive yield paid solely for holding stablecoins while allowing rewards tied to specific activity.

Banks have argued that paying yield on stablecoins could draw deposits away from traditional institutions and reduce lending capacity. The crypto industry contends banks could benefit by using stablecoin technology for payments and other services. The White House Council of Economic Advisers analyzed the proposal and estimated that eliminating stablecoin yield would raise total bank lending by about $2.1 billion, or 0.02% of loans, while producing an estimated $800 million net loss during the transition. The analysis also projected community bank lending could increase by $129 billion, a 6.7% rise.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged prompt congressional action in an op-ed, arguing that clear federal rules are needed to keep crypto firms and investment in the United States rather than sending them to overseas hubs. Other White House advisers have pressed for a timely resolution to reduce regulatory uncertainty.

Lummis posted on X, “This is our last chance to pass the Clarity Act until at least 2030. We can’t afford to surrender America’s financial future.” Reactions on the platform ranged from questions about the likely delay to accusations that bank lobbying was slowing talks. One supporter wrote, “When the US sets the rules, the whole world adjusts. Clarity Act isn’t just an American story; it’s the global crypto framework in disguise.”

Prediction markets placed roughly a 56% chance that the CLARITY Act will be signed into law by year-end. Industry voices, including Coinbase’s chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad, have argued that permitting certain stablecoin yields could encourage banks to adopt the technology for payments and other services, expanding use cases for both banks and crypto firms.

With Congress entering a period of heightened political focus ahead of the 2026 elections and Lummis not seeking reelection, supporters say the window to resolve jurisdictional disputes and finalize the bill is narrow.