Per CoinPost citing JPMorgan analysts’ views (CoinPost report), the crypto market structure bill known in the market as the “CLARITY Act” is seeing its window to become law this year (i.e., before the midterm elections) narrow, amid the approaching US midterms and continued controversy over yield-bearing stablecoins. To be clear: this is a JPMorgan analyst’s assessment disclosed via secondary media, and we have not been able to obtain JPMorgan’s original research report in full. “The probability of passage is declining” is CoinPost’s characterization of that view, not an official change in the bill’s actual status. As of this article’s date, the latest reading of the CLARITY Act’s progress in Congress can be verified on congress.gov’s H.R.3633 page.
Editorial take: which cards are actually affected
The bottom line first: this news has essentially no direct impact on Asia-Pacific USDT cards.
The crypto market structure bill deals with foundational classification questions — how digital assets are categorized under US securities/commodities law, and whether the SEC or the CFTC governs them. It affects card products operating within the US, or primarily built around US onboarding/subscription.
- Asia-Pacific users: If you hold a virtual card like MPCard Asia Elite — Asia-Pacific BIN, Asia-Pacific rails — the issuer isn’t within US regulatory reach, so this legislative stall doesn’t change your top-ups, spending, or limits. Business as usual.
- US-sensitive users: Anyone using products under the US compliance framework, like Coinbase Card, or relying on USD stablecoin yield features, should push back their expectations of “regulatory clarity.” A delayed bill means the gray zone around “does a yield-bearing stablecoin count as a security” stays gray for longer.
- Exchange card users: Offshore exchange cards such as Bybit Card were never dependent on US legislation to begin with, so the impact is limited.
Time-window expectations:
- Within 7 days: No card parameters change; no action needed.
- Within 30 days: If this JPMorgan view gets echoed by more institutions, it could affect how USD stablecoin issuers like USDC word their yield products, but the cards themselves stay the same.
- Within 90 days: As the midterms approach, if the legislative window really does close, the discussion likely gets pushed to the next Congress after the election — that’s a point worth watching over the longer term.
Readers unsure which line to use can compare options in 5 USDT Cards Worth Using in 2026.
Historical comparison: not the same as 2023, and not the same as GENIUS
This “legislative stall” is easy to conflate with past events, but the nature is different:
- The 2023 brief USDC depeg: That was a market event triggered by risk at the issuer’s reserve bank (SVB), which propagated to all USDC-denominated cards within hours — immediate and technical. This time, the CLARITY Act’s delay is a legislative pacing issue, which propagates slowly and doesn’t directly touch on-chain prices.
- Stablecoin payment legislation (commonly called the GENIUS framework in the industry): This is a separate legislative track from the “market structure bill” — the former governs issuance and reserve rules for payment stablecoins, the latter governs the broader securities/commodities classification of digital assets. The two move at different paces, and you shouldn’t map one’s progress onto the other. For the exact enactment timeline and current text of the GENIUS framework, defer to congress.gov’s primary records — we won’t cite a specific month from memory here.
Similarities: both are constrained by the US political calendar (elections, session schedules). Differences: this is a matter of legislative-priority ordering for structural legislation, not a solvency issue for any stablecoin.
Regulatory implications: the gray zone stays gray
The most direct consequence of “market structure” legislation continuing to stall is that the legal classification of yield-bearing stablecoins remains unresolved — whether it counts as a deposit, a security, or simply a stablecoin has no clear federal-level answer. This is a reminder for anyone hoping to earn interest on USDT/USDC balances while spending on a card: the availability and compliance wording of related products may shift at any time.
For Asia-Pacific users, local regulation matters more than US legislation. The stablecoin rules in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan are what actually determine whether you can hold a card in compliance:
The current boundary is roughly this: most Asia-Pacific jurisdictions treat an individual holding USDT and spending through a compliant card issuer as clearly permitted or gray-area feasible; what’s clearly prohibited is unlicensed public issuance/solicitation. The delay of the US market structure bill doesn’t change these local rules.
Milestones worth watching next
- Changes in H.R.3633’s reading on congress.gov — any committee markup or scheduling is a substantive signal.
- Whether JPMorgan’s primary research goes public — right now we only have secondary characterization, and the exact wording remains unconfirmed.
- Wording adjustments to US yield-bearing stablecoin products — if issuers like Circle update their terms, that’s a leading indicator of shifting legislative expectations.
- The midterm election calendar — if it doesn’t pass before the election, the issue will likely be pushed to the next Congress.
Editorial recommendations
- If you hold MPCard Asia Elite or another Asia-Pacific card: no action needed. This news doesn’t touch your card. You can continue to reference the MPCard review for current fees and limits.
- If you rely on US-region stablecoin yield to fund spending: hold off on adding exposure, and push your expectations of regulatory clarity to after the election. Don’t adjust your holdings based on a single secondary-source assessment, but also don’t count on federal-level certainty within the year.
- If you’re planning to newly apply for a US compliance-framework card (like Coinbase Card): you can still apply as usual, but don’t treat “regulation will soon become clear” as a decision premise. Use the card as a payment tool, not a bet on legislative timing.