CLARITY Act Clears Senate Banking Committee, Awaits Floor Vote

The CLARITY Act has cleared the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 15-9, but it still awaits a floor vote in the full Senate. The bill aims to provide clarity on whether a digital asset is a security or a commodity, addressing the long-standing ambiguity that has left US operators uncertain about new listings and issuances.

Under the CLARITY Act, exchanges would have clear guidelines for determining which tokens are securities or commodities, giving them the legal predictability they need to commit long-term capital inside the United States. The bill also reorganizes oversight and registration, with the SEC retaining authority over securities determinations and issuance disclosures, while the CFTC gains expanded jurisdiction over certain digital-commodity spot markets.

One of the most contested technical questions concerns DeFi, software developers, and self-custody. The bill must decide whether non-custodial protocols and engineers who write them should face the same rules as centralized exchanges or be treated differently because they never hold user funds.