To provide for a system of regulation of the offer and sale of digital commodities by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Additional sponsors: Mr. Gottheimer, Mr. Huizenga, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, …
Reported from the Committee on Agriculture with an amendment
Reported from the Committee on Financial Services with an amendment; …
Mr. Hill of Arkansas (for himself, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, …
On Passage
CLARITY Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill creates a clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and digital assets in the United States. It defines when a digital asset is a "digital commodity" regulated by the CFTC versus a "security" regulated by the SEC, establishes registration requirements for crypto exchanges, brokers, and dealers, and explicitly prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The bill also protects individuals' rights to self-custody their crypto assets using personal wallets.
Who Benefits and How
Cryptocurrency companies and exchanges benefit from regulatory clarity, enabling them to register and operate legally under CFTC oversight rather than facing SEC enforcement actions. Bitcoin and other decentralized crypto projects benefit as "mature blockchain systems" are explicitly categorized as commodities rather than securities. Crypto holders and self-custody wallet users are protected with explicit rights to hold their own assets and conduct peer-to-peer transactions. Stablecoin issuers also gain a clear legal pathway for operation.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Digital commodity exchanges, brokers, and dealers must register with the CFTC, pay registration fees, and comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements. Digital commodity issuers face disclosure requirements similar to securities filings, including financial statements and development plans. The SEC and CFTC must develop joint rulemakings and coordinate enforcement. The Federal Reserve loses the ability to issue a CBDC.
Key Provisions
- Defines "digital commodity" as a digital asset intrinsically linked to a blockchain system, regulated by CFTC
- Creates registration framework for digital commodity exchanges, brokers, and dealers
- Establishes certification process for "mature blockchain systems" (decentralized systems not controlled by any single party)
- Prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency
- Protects individuals' rights to self-custody crypto and conduct peer-to-peer transactions
- Requires digital commodity entities to comply with Bank Secrecy Act AML requirements
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets and cryptocurrencies, clarifying jurisdiction between the SEC and CFTC, defining digital commodities, and prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Create regulatory clarity for the cryptocurrency industry by establishing CFTC as primary regulator for most digital assets while preserving SEC authority over securities offerings and protecting individual crypto users from surveillance"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Treasury
- "the_commission"
- → Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jointly
- "the_commission"
- → Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- "the_commission"
- → Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
- "the_commission"
- → Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
- "the_board"
- → Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Treasury
Note: 'The Commission' refers to both the SEC and CFTC jointly in Title I, but refers primarily to the SEC in Title II and primarily to the CFTC in Titles III and IV
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Technology where data is shared across a network to create a distributed ledger, linked using cryptography, propagated among participants to reach consensus, and composed of publicly available source code
Any blockchain, together with its blockchain protocol or any blockchain application or network of blockchain applications
A digital asset that is intrinsically linked to a blockchain system, and the value of which is derived from the use of the blockchain system
Distribution of digital commodity units that does not involve more than nominal value exchange, distributed broadly based on conditions any participant can satisfy, such as mining, validating, or staking
Any person that issues or proposes to issue a unit of a digital commodity to a person, or offers or sells a right to a future issuance
A blockchain system, together with its related digital commodity, that is not controlled by any person or group of persons under common control
Any person who, as a regular business, solicits or accepts orders for the purchase or sale of a digital commodity
Any person who, as a regular business, is or offers to be a counterparty to a person for the purchase or sale of a digital commodity
A digital commodity that can be exclusively possessed and transferred person to person without an intermediary, recorded on a blockchain, and sold pursuant to an investment contract
A trading facility that offers or seeks to offer a cash or spot market in at least 1 digital commodity
A blockchain system through which multiple participants can execute financial transactions in accordance with automated rules without reliance on any person to maintain control of user assets
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology