CLARITY Act on the Brink: Will Crypto Pass Before May 21 or Walks Into 2030?

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CLARITY Act window slams shut after May 21

At the XRP Las Vegas conference on April 30th, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse warned that the CLARITY Act might not pass this year if it doesn’t get approved by the Senate Banking Committee before May 21st. He explained that the current agreement between the House, Senate, and White House on crypto rules is delicate, and if the bill is delayed, it could be put off until 2030.

Summary

  • The bill has over 120 firm backers including Coinbase, Kraken, Circle, and Andreessen Horowitz and holds public support from the White House, SEC Chair Paul Atkins, and Treasury Secretary Bessent.
  • Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno have both said independently that failure to pass the CLARITY Act in 2026 means the next window opens no earlier than 2030.
  • The CLARITY Act must still clear a Banking Committee markup, a 60-vote Senate floor threshold, reconciliation between Banking and Agriculture Committee versions, reconciliation with the July 2025 House text, and Trump’s signature.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, cautioned attendees at XRP Las Vegas that May 21st is a critical deadline. He explained that the current political support for the CLARITY Act – a key piece of legislation – is unusual in Washington and could disappear after the upcoming midterm elections. According to a 247 Wall St. analysis, XRP’s progress throughout 2026 has largely depended on this legislation, and if it doesn’t pass by May 21st, it will likely remove the biggest reason for large institutions to start using XRP this year. Senator Tillis has stated he will request that the Senate Banking Committee, led by Chairman Tim Scott, schedule a vote on the bill when the Senate reconvenes on May 11th.

According to crypto.news, the deadline to move forward with the legislation was missed in April because the Senate Banking Committee was focused on confirming Kevin Warsh. They also took a week-long break before announcing any plans for a review. This now leaves only about eight business days, from May 11th to May 21st, to complete five necessary steps: committee review, committee vote, a Senate vote requiring 60 votes, aligning the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committee versions of the bill, and then reconciling it with a House version from July 2025. There isn’t much time left to complete each of these steps.

As reported by crypto.news, Senator Lummis recently warned that the current agreement between the House, Senate, and White House on crypto legislation is unusual for Washington and might not continue. Speaking at the Bitcoin 2026 Conference on April 27th, she explained that, as chair of the Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets and not running for re-election, she has no political reason to stall the process. While Novogratz predicted the bill could pass in May, analysis from Galaxy Research suggests there’s only a 50-50 chance of it becoming law this year, and Polymarket gives it about a 46% probability.

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2026-05-01 21:18