Wall Street investment bank TD Cowen recently released an interesting market research report, stating frankly that the U.S. midterm elections in 2026 could disrupt Congress's pace in advancing digital asset regulation. This high-profile bill is currently stalled in the Senate, and its prospects do carry considerable uncertainties.

Let's start with the bill's name itself, which is quite revealing. The bill is called the "CLARITY Act" in the House of Representatives, but changes its name to the "Responsible Financial Innovation Act" in the Senate. Both names point to the same objective—establishing a clear regulatory framework for America's digital asset market.

TD Cowen's Washington research team predicts that don't expect this bill to pass quickly. Their assessment is that at the earliest, Congress won't formally approve it until 2027, and actual implementation won't occur until 2029.

What's the reason? Elections. With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, Senate Democrats may choose to put this on hold for now. After all, the election results themselves are full of uncertainty, and no one can predict how the distribution of power in Congress will change afterward. Some Democratic lawmakers are inclined to push this matter back, waiting until the election dust settles and the new Congress takes shape before proceeding. The report also mentions that a bipartisan market structure bill draft released by the Senate Agriculture Committee in November added new "conflict of interest prevention" related provisions.

This political maneuvering undoubtedly adds another layer of waiting costs to the digital asset industry's policy expectations.