The Senate's CLARITY Act compromise pairs DeFi developer protections with stablecoin reward limits; its ethics division blocks passage until September.
Alpha Score of 47 reflects weak overall profile with weak momentum, weak value, strong quality, moderate sentiment.
The Senate's latest CLARITY Act compromise won't reach a floor vote until September. Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that sponsors intend to bring the measure up "first thing when we come back" from the August recess, with Democratic opposition having blocked floor consideration before lawmakers left town.
The revised draft, released July 22, folds the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees' separate proposals into a single framework covering securities regulation, commodities markets, banking, stablecoin issuance and DeFi. It also adds provisions on fraud and cybersecurity, and restricts public officials from taking part in digital asset ventures. The read comes from a new analysis by Ashurst Perkins Coie.
Stablecoin rewards programs drew the closest attention. Banks argue yield-bearing stablecoins resemble bank deposits; crypto firms lean on rewards to pull users into their networks. The draft splits the difference.
Digital asset service providers generally may not pay interest or yield merely for holding payment stablecoins. Activity-based rewards tied to payments, remittances, liquidity provision, staking or loyalty programs stay permissible so long as they aren't economically equivalent to bank deposit interest. The Treasury gains authority to impose civil penalties of up to $5 million for knowing violations.
DeFi protections widen as well. Software developers, node operators, validators, oracle providers and self-custody wallet developers would not automatically be treated as securities intermediaries or money transmitters. The test falls on who holds the practical ability to control or materially alter a network's operations, not on whether a protocol calls itself decentralized. The analysis flags lingering uncertainty for interface providers and some governance participants, who still face questions over whether their work amounts to brokerage or another regulated function.
The bill sets up a CFTC-led market structure for digital commodities, with registration categories for exchanges, brokers, dealers and advisers, plus a qualified digital asset custodian framework.
Banks and credit unions get clearer latitude. National and state-chartered banks and federal credit unions get express permission to use digital assets and distributed ledger technology for activities they're otherwise authorized to perform. State-chartered custodians receive a federal baseline allowing custody services comparable to national banks.
Consumer protection measures broaden too, targeting elder fraud and cryptocurrency scams and stepping up enforcement against cyber-enabled theft. The draft authorizes hundreds of millions of dollars annually for state and local investigations and creates a federal task force on crypto scams.
The politically sensitive addition is a new ethics division restricting public officials and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets for compensation during their terms. The draft bars intermediaries from listing tokens issued in violation. Officials may still hold digital assets as investments under existing disclosure rules. The restrictions sunset in January 2029.
Ethics remains the principal obstacle to Senate passage. Democrats seek additional safeguards, and negotiations continue over separate language touching President Trump's crypto-related business interests.
Our earlier coverage tracked CLARITY Act passage odds falling to 27% after the Senate put off the bill. With consideration now pushed to September, lawmakers face a narrow window to assemble the bipartisan support needed for the most comprehensive federal framework yet governing digital assets and crypto intermediaries. Thune said the measure comes up first when the Senate returns. No date has been set for a floor vote.
Drafted by a large language model from the source reporting linked above, then screened by automated publishing checks. It is not read by a journalist before publication. Some articles cite our Alpha Score. Verify prices and figures against the original source. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.