Clarity法案过审参议院委员会，市场已开始显化利好影响

Original by Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)

Author｜jk

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee voted 15-9 on May 14 local time to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) out of committee, sending it to a full Senate vote.

The vote largely fell along party lines: all Republican committee members voted in favor, while two Democratic senators broke ranks to support the bill: Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland.

Notably, Alsobrooks stated after the vote that her 'yes' vote was a "vote to continue working in good faith" and made it clear she would not support the bill in a full Senate vote until several core issues are resolved.

Committee Chairman, Republican Senator Tim Scott, secured this bipartisan result through procedural maneuvers as the hearing neared its end. The hearing lasted several hours, during which the two parties fiercely debated multiple amendments, with several proposed by Democrats being rejected or procedurally blocked.

What is the CLARITY Act? A simple breakdown:

In simple terms, the CLARITY Act attempts to answer a core question that has plagued the U.S. crypto industry for years: Who should regulate digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum?

Currently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have long had blurred boundaries and jurisdictional disputes over crypto asset regulation. This uncertainty leaves businesses at a loss and investors without protection.

The core logic of the CLARITY Act is to clearly classify digital assets as either "securities" or "commodities," placing them under the jurisdiction of the SEC and CFTC respectively, thereby establishing a clear federal regulatory framework. This is the first comprehensive legislative attempt targeting the crypto industry in U.S. history, spanning 309 pages.

Additionally, the bill addresses several important issues:

• Stablecoin Yield Rules: Previously, some platforms allowed users to earn returns resembling bank deposit interest just by holding stablecoins, which sparked strong backlash from the traditional banking industry. The latest version of the bill handles this by prohibiting interest payments on "passively held" stablecoins, but allows returns generated through active user actions like trading, transferring, or staking. The logic behind this distinction is that the former directly competes with bank deposits, while the latter constitutes legitimate returns for users actively participating in the market.
• Regulatory Standards for DeFi Platforms: Since DeFi lacks traditional "companies" and "managers," regulators have long struggled to find enforcement targets. The CLARITY Act attempts to establish rules for this: requiring relevant platforms to fulfill anti-money laundering obligations, monitor suspicious transactions, verify user identities, and comply with sanctions regulations from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
• Legal Protections for Software Developers: This clause addresses a real-world dilemma: developers have previously been held accountable by regulators simply for writing code for an open-source protocol that was later exploited by bad actors. The bill explicitly states that if a bad actor uses a protocol for illegal activities, legal liability should not automatically fall on the protocol's software developers, as long as the developer was not involved in the illegal activity. This protection is seen by the industry as a crucial measure to encourage compliant innovation and prevent "guilt-by-association enforcement."

What are the disagreements between traditional banking and the crypto industry?

This has been one of the core conflicts stalling the bill in recent months.

The banking industry fears: If stablecoins are allowed to pay interest to holders like savings accounts, they will directly compete with bank deposits, leading to significant capital outflows and weakening banks' ability to lend to the real economy. Six major banking groups, including the American Bankers Association, jointly issued a statement explicitly calling for tighter restrictions on stablecoin yields.

The crypto industry argues that excessive restrictions on stablecoin yields will stifle innovation and leave the U.S. lagging behind in the global digital financial competition.

The final compromise is that the latest version of the bill (dated May 11) prohibits paying returns akin to deposit interest on "passively held" stablecoins, but allows returns generated from active actions like trading, transferring, and staking. This distinction is viewed as a middle ground balancing the interests of both sides, though the banking industry says it will continue to push for further tightening.

What comes next for the bill?

Passing the committee review is just one step in the long legislative marathon. Several hurdles remain before it becomes law:

Step One: Merging Committee Versions. The Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee each have a draft version. These must be merged into a single unified text.

Step Two: Full Senate Vote. The merged bill must first clear a 60-vote procedural hurdle (cloture motion) in the full Senate, then pass by a simple majority. This means Republicans must secure support from at least 9 Democratic senators, with the key bargaining chips being the unresolved ethics and enforcement provisions.

Step Three: House-Senate Reconciliation. The House of Representatives passed its own version back in July 2025 with a vote of 294-134, but it differs from the Senate version. The two chambers must form a unified text, which then must be voted on and passed by both chambers separately.

Step Four: Presidential Signature. Trump is widely expected to sign the bill. White House advisor Patrick Witt previously stated publicly that signing could occur around Independence Day on July 4th, but this timeline is extremely tight.

The crypto industry's goal is to complete the entire legislative process before the midterm elections in November this year; otherwise, Congress's attention will shift entirely to the campaigns, potentially closing the legislative window.

Two Core Uncertainties

1. Government Official Ethics Clause

The bill includes provisions restricting government officials from holding or benefiting from crypto assets, a clause implicitly targeting Trump himself, who has held and promoted multiple crypto projects while in office. Democrats see this as a necessary prerequisite for supporting the bill, while Republicans are non-committal. Cody Carbone, head of the Digital Chamber of Commerce, stated that this trade-off is likely to be resolved before the bill reaches a full Senate vote.

2. Enforcement and Anti-Money Laundering

Senator Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats insist that the bill's crackdown on illegal financial activities involving DeFi platforms is insufficient. Related amendments were rejected in today's committee vote by a margin of 11-13, and this issue will continue to be a focal point of negotiations.

Market Reaction

Following the announcement of the bill's passage, the crypto market experienced a noticeable rebound. Coinbase (COIN) surged over 10% on the day, while Bitcoin (BTC) rose approximately 2.4%.

Industry institutions generally responded positively. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated, "If the world's largest economy is going to lead on crypto — and it must — this is the moment." Circle Chief Strategy Officer Dante Disparte called the vote "meaningful bipartisan progress toward comprehensive digital asset regulation."

For the entire crypto industry, the significance of the CLARITY Act is akin to a "legitimacy coronation." For years, the ambiguous classification of crypto assets and inconsistent enforcement by U.S. regulators have kept substantial institutional capital on the sidelines. Once the bill is enacted, clarifying the regulatory boundaries between the SEC and CFTC and making compliance costs predictable will remove the biggest barrier to institutional entry.

This is also a clear signal from the U.S. in the global competition for digital asset regulation. The EU passed the MiCA regulation in 2023, and jurisdictions like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai have also established regulatory frameworks. The U.S.'s prolonged absence is being exploited by its competitors.

Of course, the bill still has a long way to go. Today's committee vote marks an important beginning.