U.S. Senator: CLARITY Act Will Ensure Customer Crypto Assets Remain Their Own During Exchange Bankruptcy
2026-07-20 13:26
Odaily Planet Daily News U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis stated that the CLARITY Act will change the handling of customer crypto assets when digital asset platforms enter bankruptcy proceedings, and that customer assets should continue to belong to the customers, rather than being included in the company's bankruptcy estate.
The bill requires regulated digital asset intermediaries to treat customer cash and digital assets as customer property, segregated from company assets. It also generally prohibits brokers, dealers, and exchanges from using customer assets for their own benefit or for the benefit of others without authorization.
The bankruptcies of Celsius and Voyager previously sparked disputes over the ownership of customer deposits. In January 2023, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn ruled that cryptocurrencies deposited in Celsius Earn accounts became company property under the terms of use, involving approximately 600,000 Earn accounts and approximately $4.2 billion in assets.
Lummis said the CLARITY Act also aims to provide regulatory certainty for developers, strengthen investor protection, and enhance market integrity. The bill would clarify the respective responsibilities of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in different areas of the crypto market. It has passed the House of Representatives but has not yet been approved by the Senate.
The bill requires regulated digital asset intermediaries to treat customer cash and digital assets as customer property, segregated from company assets. It also generally prohibits brokers, dealers, and exchanges from using customer assets for their own benefit or for the benefit of others without authorization.
The bankruptcies of Celsius and Voyager previously sparked disputes over the ownership of customer deposits. In January 2023, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn ruled that cryptocurrencies deposited in Celsius Earn accounts became company property under the terms of use, involving approximately 600,000 Earn accounts and approximately $4.2 billion in assets.
Lummis said the CLARITY Act also aims to provide regulatory certainty for developers, strengthen investor protection, and enhance market integrity. The bill would clarify the respective responsibilities of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in different areas of the crypto market. It has passed the House of Representatives but has not yet been approved by the Senate.
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