Washington lawmakers have moved the United States closer to its first comprehensive rulebook for digital assets after the Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act, giving the crypto industry a significant legislative breakthrough after months of delay, lobbying and disputes over stablecoin rewards.The committee voted 15-9 to send the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to the full Senate, with all 13 Republicans on the panel joined by Democrats Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland. The vote marked a rare bipartisan opening on a financial technology issue that has divided lawmakers, regulators, banks and crypto companies over how far Washington should go in legitimising digital asset markets.
The bill seeks to clarify when digital tokens should be treated as securities, commodities or other financial instruments, ending years of uncertainty that has left companies navigating overlapping oversight from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Its central premise is that most digital commodities would fall under the CFTC, while the SEC would retain authority over digital securities and tokenised versions of conventional financial products.
Supporters argue that a clear federal framework could unlock institutional investment, reduce enforcement-driven regulation and encourage blockchain firms to remain in the United States. Market participants have framed the measure as a possible catalyst for a crypto economy that some industry forecasts say could scale into the trillions of dollars as tokenisation, stablecoins, decentralised finance and digital asset trading become more deeply integrated into mainstream finance.
The $10 trillion figure being circulated by advocates reflects a broad projection of potential market expansion rather than a direct budgetary estimate or official economic forecast. It is linked to expectations that legal clarity could accelerate the tokenisation of real-world assets, widen stablecoin use in payments, draw banks and asset managers into digital markets, and give exchanges a more predictable operating environment.
The committee action came after a January markup was derailed by disagreement over whether crypto firms should be allowed to offer yield or rewards tied to stablecoin holdings. Banks warned that interest-like incentives could pull deposits away from regulated lenders, while crypto companies argued that overly restrictive language would weaken innovation and entrench traditional finance.
A compromise now bars rewards that are economically or functionally equivalent to interest on idle stablecoin balances, while allowing certain transaction-based incentives. That distinction remains contested. Banking groups want tighter language to prevent third-party arrangements from recreating deposit-like products outside the banking system, while crypto firms say users should not be denied rewards linked to active network participation.
The legislation would also place digital commodity platforms under Bank Secrecy Act obligations, requiring customer checks, monitoring and anti-money laundering controls closer to those applied in the banking sector. That provision is designed to answer concerns that digital assets can be used for illicit finance, sanctions evasion and fraud when platforms operate outside clear federal supervision.
Another key provision would create a fundraising exemption for some digital asset issuers, allowing companies to raise capital without full SEC registration if they meet disclosure and conduct rules. The bill also addresses decentralised finance by setting criteria for when platforms are considered genuinely decentralised and when they should be treated as regulated financial intermediaries.
The measure preserves SEC jurisdiction over tokenised securities, making clear that putting stocks, bonds or other securities on a blockchain does not remove them from existing investor protection rules. That point is central to Wall Street’s interest in the bill, as major financial institutions explore tokenised funds, settlement systems and collateral management tools.
Crypto-linked stocks initially benefited from the committee vote, with Coinbase and other market-facing companies drawing investor attention. The broader market response was uneven, however, as traders weighed the bill’s prospects against macroeconomic pressures, geopolitical risk and the possibility that much of the optimism had already been priced into digital asset valuations.
Passage is far from assured. The bill still needs support on the Senate floor, where major legislation often requires 60 votes to advance. It must also be reconciled with legislation passed by the House, while senators continue to debate ethics provisions, anti-money laundering safeguards, decentralised finance treatment and the role of regulators.
Gallego and Alsobrooks have signalled that their committee support does not guarantee backing in a final floor vote unless negotiations address unresolved concerns. Democrats critical of the bill argue that it could weaken investor protections, limit the SEC’s enforcement reach and leave gaps around conflicts of interest involving political figures and crypto ventures.
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Cryptocurrency