On January 15, 2026, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee indeed scheduled a "Markup Session" on important legislation in the cryptocurrency sector. This meeting marks a crucial step for the United States in establishing its first comprehensive regulatory framework for the crypto market.

What is the legislation

The core of this legislation is to establish a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for digital assets. Its primary goal is to end the long-standing ambiguity and jurisdictional overlaps—mainly between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)—that rely heavily on litigation enforcement.

· Legislation Name: The version passed by the House is called the "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act," also commonly referred to as the "CLARITY Act."
· Core Objectives: Clarify regulatory responsibilities to promote innovation, protect investors, and maintain national security. The ultimate goal is to "make the U.S. the world’s cryptocurrency capital."

Key Content and Impact

Below are the core issues the legislation aims to address and their potential impacts:

1. Clarifying Asset Classification and Regulatory Agencies

· Issue Addressed: When is a digital asset considered a "security" versus a "commodity"? This has been a long-standing unresolved question.
· Legislative Proposal: The bill will define "digital commodities" and "digital assets," systematically delineating the regulatory boundaries of the SEC and CFTC. Generally, the CFTC will gain exclusive jurisdiction over spot markets for digital commodities (such as Bitcoin), while the SEC will continue to regulate tokens with securities attributes.

2. Regulating Stablecoins

· Issue Addressed: Who should regulate stablecoins like USDT and USDC that are pegged to the US dollar, and how to ensure their reserves are sufficient and secure?
· Legislative Proposal: Establish a federal framework for payment stablecoins, clarifying licensing requirements for issuers, reserve assets (such as cash or government bonds), and audit standards.

3. Focus on Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

· Issue Addressed: How should DeFi protocols, such as decentralized exchanges that lack traditional centralized operators, be brought into regulation?
· Current Status: This is one of the most contentious areas in legislative negotiations. Lobbying groups from Wall Street and the crypto industry still have disagreements on this issue.

4. Potential Market Impact

· If Passed: It would significantly enhance regulatory certainty, potentially attracting more traditional financial institutions’ capital, promoting the development of financial products like ETFs and compliant custody services, and possibly reducing market manipulation.
· Current Progress: The bill is still in early legislative stages, and its final passage and effective date remain uncertain.

Next Steps and Timeline

The January 15 meeting is just one step in a lengthy legislative process. During the session, committee members will review the bill clause by clause, propose amendments, and vote.

Below is the subsequent legislative pathway and estimated timeline:

· January 15, 2026: Senate Banking Committee review
· Short-term goal: Pass through the Senate Banking Committee and Agriculture Committee separately
· Next steps: Merge the Senate versions and submit for a full Senate vote (requires 60 votes)
· Final stage: Coordinate with the House version (which passed in July 2025), and submit for presidential signature
· Optimistic estimate: Enactment as law could occur as early as March 2026
· Conservative estimate: The legislative process may be delayed until 2027, with implementation of related rules possibly later

Summary

Overall, the January 15 meeting is a key milestone in U.S. cryptocurrency regulation legislation but far from the end. The bill aims to address core regulatory ambiguities by clarifying asset classifications and establishing stablecoin rules. Its subsequent progress will depend on bipartisan negotiations over several contentious issues.