Overview
- The revised 630‑page CLARITY Act, released Sept. 10, creates a “non‑decentralized” protocol category that would require platforms controlled by people or groups to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and limits DeFi coverage to spot and cash transactions.
- A Sept. 15 cloture vote must win 60 senators to open formal Senate debate and Republicans have not secured public Democratic support, leaving the bill’s near‑term advance uncertain.
- The draft retains an ethics provision that bars officials and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets, makes the Justice Department the primary enforcer, and sets the restriction to expire in January 2029, which Democrats say is inadequate.
- Banking groups are lobbying for tight limits on stablecoin reward programs that they say can look like deposit interest while crypto firms including Coinbase oppose broad restrictions because those programs generate substantial revenue.
- Supporters say statutory passage would lock in regulator lines and durable market rules, but industry voices and asset managers warn that SEC and CFTC rulemaking and other laws such as the GENIUS Act will keep shaping crypto policy if CLARITY fails and a delayed statute could push comprehensive reform years into the future.