CLARITY Act Enters Final Review as July 4 Text Release Set

Senator Cynthia Lummis confirmed the CLARITY Act will enter its final public review phase with a July 4 text release. The updated language comes after months of negotiations involving lawmakers, industry stakeholders, and banking representatives. Lummis told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that Senate leadership is working to secure floor time later in July.

Negotiations on the legislation have been ongoing since last Labor Day. Lummis said lawmakers spent thousands of hours examining issues tied to both the CLARITY Act and the recently debated GENIUS Act while also addressing objections raised by parts of the banking industry. The bill is intended to establish regulatory boundaries for digital asset markets in the United States.

During the interview, Lummis pushed back against criticism from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Dimon had argued the bill could allow crypto companies to offer rewards programs resembling interest-bearing banking products without the same safeguards as traditional financial institutions. Lummis said the criticism does not reflect the legislation's current language. She pointed to Section 301, which she said was revised during negotiations to ensure rewards are not linked to account balances in a way that resembles interest payments. The updated provisions also include additional anti-money laundering measures, she added.

While Senate negotiators move toward publication of the final text, several law enforcement organizations have urged lawmakers to reconsider another part of the legislation. Four groups sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and White House digital assets adviser Patrick Witt, warning that Section 604 could create regulatory gaps and make investigations involving digital assets more difficult. The groups argued the provision could weaken Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering requirements compared with standards applied in traditional finance.

Section 604 incorporates the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act. It would prevent certain non-custodial participants – including open-source developers, self-custody tool providers, software contributors, and some decentralized finance infrastructure operators – from automatically being classified as money transmitters. The Alliance to End Human Trafficking separately urged Senate Republican Leader John Thune and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to revisit the same provision. The organization said the proposed language could create ambiguities that complicate efforts to monitor financial activity linked to human trafficking, organized crime, child exploitation, sanctions evasion, and other illicit conduct.

Those objections add to the list of issues lawmakers are weighing as the CLARITY Act enters what Lummis described as its final public review phase before Senate consideration. The outcome will shape the regulatory environment for digital assets, with implications for crypto market analysis and institutional adoption. The July 4 text release gives stakeholders one last round of feedback before the Senate push later in July.