Clarity Stall Leaves Banks and Exchanges Looking to SEC

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act had been billed as the long-awaited rulebook that could pull cryptocurrency deeper into the regulated U.S. financial system. Its failure to advance, with the procedural vote falling short, sent crypto stocks tumbling and left the industry staring at yet another stretch of operating domestically without comprehensive federal market structure legislation.

And that stretch of uncertainty may not result in any clarity any time soon. On Wednesday (Sept. 16), House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that Thursday’s House votes were cancelled and that lawmakers would likely go on recess starting Wednesday night, returning to Washington only after the November midterm elections.

Since returning from the August recess, lawmakers have been at work for just seven days. The early lawmaker exit comes after more than 100 Democratic representatives called for Speaker Johnson to cancel the recess entirely in order to address what they said is a growing threat from artificial intelligence. By ending its session a day early, the House will also avoid a vote on a resolution introduced by Republican congressman Thomas Massie to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Still, members of both the crypto industry and the banking industry walked away from Tuesday’s failed Clarity Act Senate cloture vote saying similar things. Lawmakers still need to act and regulatory certainty still matters, both sides agreed.

And neither one considers the fight over.

Read more: Clarity Act Stalls, but Will Wall Street Wait to Move On-Chain? 

Crypto’s Regulatory Strategy Just Become Agency-Led

For crypto companies, Tuesday’s vote represents a significant setback but not necessarily a return to the regulatory environment of several years ago. Opposition came from Democrats concerned about ethics and President Donald Trump’s crypto interests as well as Republicans facing other objections to the legislation.

Looking ahead, the sector is now betting that Congress is no longer the industry’s only route to clearer rules. After all, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have continued developing digital-asset policy, leaving cryptocurrency companies with a potentially important second track even if legislation stalls.

“The CLARITY Act didn’t advance in the Senate today, which was a disappointment. While it’s possible bi-partisan conversations continue and it lives to fight another day, we can’t wait on Congress anymore. The SEC and CFTC have the tools they need to create clear rules under existing authority, and I expect will begin working on this in earnest. So clarity is coming to crypto regardless,” Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, which was behind much of the lobbying and corporate spending for the Clarity Act, said on X.

“Crypto can’t be uninvented. With clarity emerging through the regulators, we’ll continue updating the financial system,” Armstrong said. Coinbase’s stock has fallen around 7% on the news of the Clarity Act stalling out.

See also: How the SEC Went From Crypto Enforcement to Building an On-Chain Wall Street

That sentiment was echoed by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins.

“I have been unequivocal: with or without legislation, we will act decisively within the SEC’s statutory authority to deliver certainty for American investors and for the entrepreneurs shaping our technological future. Stay tuned,” Atkins wrote on X.

Agency policy can be more vulnerable to changes in administrations, litigation and future regulators than a statute passed by Congress. But they mean Tuesday’s loss does not stop tokenization, stablecoins or the broader collision between crypto and banking.

“[The] vote doesn’t change what we see every day. Global businesses and financial institutions are already settling on stablecoin rails because it’s faster and works outside banking hours, and none of that depended on the Senate,” Eric Queathem, founder and CEO of Velocity, told PYMNTS.

“What clear rules do is make the next decision easier: they shorten the path from a first use case to running real volume, and they bring in the companies still waiting on the sidelines. That’s the opportunity in front of Congress. Businesses have already shown the demand is there, but written rules give more clarity and confidence to the US market,” he said.

Read more: Crypto Experts Tell PYMNTS Where Digital Assets Go Next 

Crypto Lost a Vote; It Didn’t Lose Its Way Into Finance

But listen to what the banking industry said immediately afterward.

“As lawmakers consider next steps, we encourage them to adopt targeted changes to stablecoin yield policy. We stand ready to work with all stakeholders to achieve this important goal,” the Independent Community Bankers of America, the American Bankers Association, Association of Military Banks of America, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, Financial Services Forum, Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America and National Bankers Association said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The banking groups reiterated their support for digital-asset legislation and then zeroed in on one issue: stablecoin yield. Their message was effectively this: Regulate crypto. Legitimize it. Let it grow. Just don’t let it turn a stablecoin into something that starts behaving like a bank account. That is the real battle the Clarity Act exposed.

“Agency rulemaking can continue to provide guidance, but legislation can offer a more durable foundation for institutions making long-term decisions,” Samson Leo, co-founder and chief legal officer of StraitsX, told PYMNTS.

“It is worth being precise about what this does and does not affect. U.S. stablecoin policy was settled by the GENIUS Act in 2025 and is now in implementation, including Treasury’s consultation on the rules for foreign issuers. That work continues,” Leo said, adding, “the longer major markets operate without clear and compatible frameworks, the harder it becomes to address fragmentation and build genuinely interoperable cross-border financial infrastructure.”

Findings in “Waiting for Certainty: Why Most CFOs Are Holding Back on Crypto and Stablecoins,” the March installment of PYMNTS Intelligence’s 2026 Certainty Project, showed that most middle market companies remain cautious about digital assets. Usage is limited, with 13% of firms using stablecoins and 5% employing other cryptocurrencies.

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