The crypto industry has been asking Washington for clear rules for years. It might be closer to an answer. JPMorgan analysts are now predicting that the Clarity Act – a sweeping bill designed to set formal ground rules for how digital assets are regulated in the US – will be changed. signed into law mid this year.
If this timeline holds true, this could prove to be one of the biggest changes in crypto policy in the US.
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What the Clarity Act actually does
In essence, this is a bill about structure. The reality is that there is currently a lack of a unified structure or framework on how cryptocurrency is classified or traded within the US.
Different authorities have taken different positions on this, causing companies to wonder what is and is not allowed.
The Clarity Act aims to solve this by establishing a clear set of rules that apply across the board – covering everything from how tokens are categorized to which regulators have authority over them.
A JPMorgan Chase report says the US CLARITY Act could be passed by mid-year and serve as a catalyst for the second half, bringing regulatory clarity, ending “regulation by enforcement,” boosting tokenization and supporting institutional adoption. Important debates revolve around the yield of stablecoins…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) March 2, 2026
According to JPMorgan’s analyst team, led by Managing Director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, the passage of the bill could act as a meaningful turning point for the broader crypto market.
Reports says the bank believes the legislation could help prices rise in the second half of 2026, even if sentiment in the crypto markets remains negative at this time.
The bank believes that regulatory certainty, once achieved, tends to attract institutional money that has been sitting on the sidelines.
But the bill has not yet been introduced. Two unresolved disputes have prevented the country from moving forward. The first concerns stablecoins: digital currencies pegged to traditional assets such as the US dollar. Crypto companies want stablecoin holders to be able to earn rewards on their assets, similar to interest.
Banks are pushing back hard, arguing that offering these returns would draw customer deposits away from conventional financial institutions and undermine the broader banking system.
A political fight slows things down
The second obstacle is a bit more political in nature, as Democratic lawmakers have been calling for the inclusion of a clause in the bill that would ban senior government officials, including US President Donald Trump and his family, from owning any financial interest in crypto projects.
The provision is widely seen as a direct reference to Trump, whose family has been linked to several crypto ventures. The White House has reportedly held several meetings to resolve these differences, but no resolution has yet been reached.
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A March 1 deadline, which had been floated as a possible target for progress, came and went without any meaningful announcement.
Reports note that industry observers had indicated weeks in advance that the deadline was unlikely to yield results, and that turned out to be correct.
Negotiations are ongoing, although the pace has frustrated those hoping for a quicker resolution.
Featured image from Vecteezychart from TradingView