WASHINGTON—The Senate Banking Committee has released the text of a digital asset market structure bill that will serve as the basis for Thursday’s markup of the CLARITY Act, the next major test for legislation intended to establish clearer federal rules for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC), Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said the text reflects negotiations with Democrats and input from regulators, law enforcement, financial institutions, innovators and consumer advocates.
As CUToday.info reported Saturday, Scott announced the committee would vote Thursday at 10:30 a.m. ET on the long-awaited bill, marking a potentially significant step toward a formal U.S. regulatory framework for digital assets.
Reuters reported the bill would clarify regulator jurisdiction over digital assets and includes provisions addressing stablecoin rewards, anti-money-laundering obligations, SEC fundraising exemptions, decentralized finance and tokenized securities. The bill would ban rewards on idle stablecoin balances but allow rewards tied to transaction-based activity, with the SEC, CFTC and Treasury directed to write joint rules.
That stablecoin provision remains a key flashpoint for banks and credit unions. The ABA said lawmakers should use CLARITY to close what it calls a loophole allowing digital asset service providers to bypass the GENIUS Act’s ban on interest or yield on payment stablecoins, and said the compromise does not go far enough to prevent “interest-like rewards.”
The markup will determine whether the bill advances to the full Senate, where Reuters reported it would need support from at least seven Democrats to move forward. The House passed its version last year, but Senate action remains complicated by disputes over stablecoin rewards, AML standards and Democratic concerns over crypto-related conflicts of interest involving public officials.