WASHINGTON, May 14, 2026, 07:00 EDT
- The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act heads to the Senate Banking Committee at 10:30 a.m. ET, marking a crucial moment for U.S. crypto oversight.
- The bill aims to spell out which agency—the SEC or the CFTC—handles what, while also laying down new ground rules for stablecoin rewards. That’s the sticking point dividing crypto companies and banks.
- More than 130 amendments landed ahead of the markup, Fortune said, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren alone submitting 44 of them.
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee is set to take up the CLARITY Act on Thursday, a cryptocurrency market structure bill that’s been stalled for months. This marks the first real Senate showdown for the legislation, which has sparked drawn-out clashes between crypto firms and traditional banks. Senators will debate, tweak, and vote on the bill during the markup — a critical step that could determine if Congress manages to hammer out comprehensive digital-asset rules this year.
Timing is key here. If the committee vote goes bipartisan, the bill could find its way to the Senate floor. A party-line tally, though, puts its prospects with Senate Democrats in question. “A fighting chance” is how Brian Gardner, chief Washington policy strategist at Stifel, described the bill’s odds if just one or two Democrats back it this year. Reuters
Crypto firms have lobbied for this measure for years, saying murky U.S. regulation forces business overseas and leaves companies uncertain about whether tokens count as securities or commodities. Reuters reports the industry poured over $119 million into supporting crypto-friendly candidates in 2024. The House already approved its version of the CLARITY Act last year.
The bill aims to spell out whether crypto tokens fall under the SEC’s oversight as securities or the CFTC’s jurisdiction as commodities. That distinction sits at the core of the crypto industry’s frustration with U.S. regulators, who it says have leaned on enforcement actions rather than laying down clear rules.
Stablecoins—digital tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar—are at the center of the sharpest debate. Under the Senate draft, rewards for simply holding stablecoins, which can resemble bank deposit interest, would be prohibited. However, rewards tied to actual stablecoin transactions—like when users pay with them—would still be permitted. The SEC, CFTC, and Treasury would have to hammer out the details together through joint rulemaking.
Banks argue the door remains open for crypto platforms to dangle interest-style perks and siphon off deposits. Rob Nichols, who leads the American Bankers Association, pushed CEOs to call senators, cautioning that the proposal on the table might spark a wave of deposits shifting into payment stablecoins—posing risks, he said, to both economic growth and financial stability.
Crypto groups are pushing back. Summer Mersinger, the Blockchain Association’s chief executive, described the markup as “a defining moment” for U.S. leadership in digital asset markets. For the Crypto Council for Innovation, CEO Ji Hun Kim argued that without a federal framework, developers, capital, and market activity will keep heading offshore. Crypto Council for Innovation
Republican committee heads described the updated bill as a middle ground. Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott argued it sets out “clear rules of the road” for both consumers and businesses. Sen. Cynthia Lummis pointed to almost a year of bipartisan work behind the latest draft. Sen. Thom Tillis called for swift approval, saying the new language brings regulatory certainty. Senate Banking Committee
Democrats are still divided. The committee’s top Democrat, Warren, says the bill doesn’t go far enough on anti-money-laundering and wants explicit measures to prevent political figures from cashing in on crypto. According to Fortune, Warren was responsible for 44 of the proposed amendments submitted ahead of Thursday’s markup.
The bill would extend Bank Secrecy Act requirements to digital commodity exchanges, brokers, and dealers, pulling them into anti-money-laundering, customer ID, and due-diligence obligations similar to what banks have. A separate section allows certain crypto firms to raise as much as $50 million annually—capping out at $200 million in total—without registering with the SEC, using a more relaxed framework.
The battle isn’t just in D.C. The bill targets crypto exchanges like Coinbase, along with stablecoin outfits and banks—especially those concerned that rewards programs might pull cash away from deposits. Coinbase, according to The Verge, had rejected an earlier version, but months of haggling over the stablecoin section eventually pulled key crypto firms back together.
The risk: with a close or party-line committee vote, the bill could get bogged down—despite Republicans possibly pushing it through committee. Analysts point out it has more hurdles ahead: Senate approval, alignment with the Agriculture Committee’s ongoing work, and hashing out differences with the House version before it lands on President Donald Trump’s desk.
