US crypto law in final sprint: 10 August is decision day
The CLARITY Act splits US crypto oversight between the SEC and the CFTC. The bill must clear the Senate before the summer recess; if it misses 10 August, momentum fades until after the elections. Europe led with MiCA; now Washington is catching up.
In Washington, the clock is ticking. The CLARITY Act — in full the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which divides US crypto oversight between securities watchdog the SEC and commodities regulator the CFTC — is nearing a decisive moment. The Senate must finish the bill before 10 August, when the summer recess begins. The last working day before that is 7 August: that is the real deadline.
Where the bill stands
The House of Representatives passed the bill last year by 294 votes to 134. On the Senate side, the Banking Committee approved it in May (15-9) and the Agriculture Committee cleared its own version earlier this year. Those two versions must now be merged into one bill before the full Senate can vote — and time is short.
What the law does
At its heart is a clear division of labour: the SEC oversees investment contracts and tokenized securities, while the CFTC gains full authority over the spot market for digital commodities. In addition, crypto projects may raise up to 50 million dollars (roughly €44 million) a year and 200 million dollars (roughly €175 million) cumulatively through simplified registration, and exchanges and brokers come under strict anti-money-laundering rules (KYC/AML). Rewards on stablecoin deposits are restricted, with exceptions.
The hurdles
It won't be easy. There is disagreement over those stablecoin rewards, and Democrats are pushing for stricter ethics rules around crypto gifts to federal officials. There is also a practical problem: the CFTC has a budget of around 365 million dollars (roughly €319 million) and 535 staff, against the 2.15 billion dollars (roughly €1.88 billion) and more than 4,000 staff of the SEC — too little to deliver on that new mandate right away.
What does it mean for Europe?
Europe led the way with MiCA — fully in force since 1 July; the US is now catching up. Clarity on both sides of the Atlantic lowers the barrier for institutional capital, but it also fuels competition between regulators. If the American rules turn out friendlier, capital and talent could drift away from Europe.
Caveat: a deadline is not doomsday
Worth knowing: if the Senate misses 10 August, nothing suddenly becomes illegal — no bitcoin, ethereum, stablecoin or exchange disappears. The significance is mainly political: miss this window and the momentum evaporates, with a final decision likely slipping until after the elections. And an announced bill is not yet law.
Sources: Bitcoin Foundation, Paul Hastings. Last checked: 21 July 2026.