Since taking office, the Trump administration has been working to establish a clear regulatory framework that supports the growth of the cryptocurrency sector. This momentum could accelerate with the CLARITY Act as early as January.
CLARITY Act: A Regulatory Framework Expected in January?
For many years, U.S. players in the cryptocurrency ecosystem have been calling for a clear and defined regulatory framework so they can conduct their business with full transparency. This is especially true given that former SEC Chair Gary Gensler used this legal ambiguity to impose lawsuits and record-breaking fines on them.
The situation has changed significantly since the Trump administration took office, appointing pro-crypto Paul Atkins to this key position. This presented an opportunity to implement the GENIUS Act—a regulatory framework tailored to support the development of stablecoins last July—as well as to promise a CLARITY Act specifically adapted to cryptocurrencies.
A project announced as soon as Donald Trump was elected that remains, for the moment, a mere campaign promise—to the point of forcing Paul Atkins to approve the first crypto ETFs (SOL, XRP, DOGE, and LINK) at the end of this year before it took effect, even though he had announced a few months earlier that he would wait until that deadline to act.
However, this nearly two-year delay may well be coming to an end, according to a recent statement by the White House’s Crypto Tsar, David Sacks, on the X network, regarding an acceleration of the CLARITY Act process starting next January.
We had an excellent call today with Senators Tim Scott and John Boozman, who confirmed that a markup for CLARITY is scheduled for January. Thanks to their leadership, as well as that of French Hill and Glen Thompson in the House, we are closer than ever to passing the historic crypto market framework legislation that President Trump has called for. We look forward to finishing the job in January!
David Sacks
There are still a few key steps to complete
Clearly, the holiday season is no exception to the rule of ambitious resolutions, even in American politics.
We will now have to wait and see how this promise of acceleration will take shape in practice, according to the X account Milk Road, which outlines the steps still needed to achieve this.
January 2026 is when the Senate plans to formally debate [the CLARITY Act], amend it, and try to pass it into law. If it passes, it would finally establish clear rules in the United States for tokens, exchanges, DeFi, and on-chain markets.
Milk Road
The year 2026 could therefore become the year of the effective implementation of the specific regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies announced since Donald Trump’s election.
It remains to be seen whether the “full-speed-ahead on crypto” progress announced last September by Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the White House Crypto Asset Council, will ultimately lead to effective legislation.
