Will the CLARITY Act Pass Before the New Congress Takes Over in January?
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The CLARITY Act has until January 3, 2027, to pass the Senate before the current Congress ends, and Senator Cynthia Lummis is still pushing it. She maintains that the bill already closes the token loophole Democrats highlighted, just weeks before they gain control of both chambers.
This proposed legislation aims to set a clear regulatory structure for cryptocurrencies like XRP (CRYPTO:XRP), Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) and Solana (CRYPTO:SOL), including which regulator oversees them. So what are the chances it passes in time?
Lummis Claims the Bill Already Covers Stock-Like Tokens
Senator Lummis shared on X that the CLARITY Act “covers anything economically or functionally equivalent to a security.” That definition targets projects that try to present stock-like interests as tokens, which is the loophole Democrats pointed out. She added that “Democrats voted against closing their own loophole.”
In September, the bill fell short in the Senate with a 50-49 vote, when it needed 60 votes to advance. The situation changed after the November 3 elections, when Democrats won control of both chambers, effective in January.
Republicans Need Democratic Support Before the Bill Expires
For the bill to move forward, 60 senators must vote to end debate. That means Republicans need Democratic support during the remaining weeks of the current Congress. On November 5, podcaster Tony Edward highlighted that every Democrat voted against the bill in September and called it a move against President Trump. Lummis’s remarks blame those same Democrats, which could make their backing harder to win.
If the CLARITY Act doesn’t pass before the deadline, it dies, since legislation that doesn’t pass expires with the current Congress. Edward also cited reporting from journalist Eleanor Terrett that House Democrats are discussing a broader market structure bill for the next Congress, building on Rep. Maxine Waters’ crypto investor bill of rights.
Will the CLARITY Act Pass Before the New Congress Takes Over?
Passage before January 3 looks unlikely, and a Democratic revision in the new Congress seems more probable. If the bill passes, it could give XRP, Ethereum, and Solana a clear legal classification and more regulatory certainty. However, if it fails, crypto holders may face another year of uncertainty waiting for defined rules.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrencies involved are falling. Currently, XRP trades around 96 cents, down 6.3% in 24 hours and below $1 for the first time since August, a slide our XRP recovery analysis has been tracking. Ethereum is approximately $1,841, down 5.1%, while Solana trades near $73, down 9.1%. A surprise lame-duck vote could spark a relief rally, but without one, prices could fall further.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
