CFTC Chair Says CLARITY Act Will be Signed Into Law
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Brian Quintenz said the CLARITY Act will be signed into law, delivering the most direct regulatory endorsement yet of the long-debated cryptocurrency market structure bill. Quintenz made the statement on May 17, giving cryptocurrency markets their clearest forward signal on federal oversight in years.
The bill would define which digital assets fall under CFTC jurisdiction versus SEC oversight. Passage would end a multi-year turf war between the two agencies that has left exchanges, token issuers, and investors in legal uncertainty.
What the CLARITY Act Does
The CLARITY Act is a bipartisan bill designed to create a comprehensive federal framework for digital asset markets.
Under the legislation, Bitcoin (BTC) and most proof-of-work tokens would fall under CFTC jurisdiction as commodities. Tokens that launched through initial sales or maintain active development teams would face SEC oversight as securities.
The bill also establishes registration pathways for cryptocurrency exchanges and creates disclosure requirements for token issuers. The framework would replace the current enforcement-first approach, in which the SEC has pursued dozens of actions against crypto firms under securities laws without dedicated digital asset rules in place.
Background
The CLARITY Act has circulated in various forms since 2022, stalling repeatedly over disagreements between House Financial Services and Senate Banking committees on jurisdictional boundaries.
A previous version, the Digital Commodity Consumer Protection Act, passed a House committee in 2023 but never reached a floor vote. The current bill gained momentum after the 2024 election shifted congressional priorities toward crypto-friendly legislation, with both chambers signaling a willingness to advance a unified framework.
Quintenz took the CFTC chair position in early 2025 and has consistently pushed for expanded agency authority over spot cryptocurrency markets. A related bill covering stablecoins, the GENIUS Act, passed the Senate in April 2026 and is pending in the House, giving the CLARITY Act a legislative runway.
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What Comes Next
Congressional timing remains the key variable.
Senate floor time is constrained through June 2026, with appropriations debates competing for the schedule. If the CLARITY Act reaches a floor vote before the August recess, markets would likely price in a significant reduction in enforcement risk for tokens currently in legal gray zones.
Exchanges with pending US registration applications, and token projects that halted US operations after SEC enforcement actions, would be among the most directly affected. Quintenz’s public confidence that the bill will be signed suggests the White House has given informal backing, though no formal statement from the administration has been issued.
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