CLARITY Bill Faces Leadership Changes as 120th Congress Nears
Departures by lawmakers and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce add uncertainty as negotiations continue over digital-asset market rules.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act faces a leadership transition as lawmakers and regulators who helped shape U.S. crypto policy prepare to leave Washington, complicating efforts to revive the legislation.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., will not seek a third term and is set to leave office at the end of the year. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., also will not seek another six-year term. Lummis chairs the Senate Banking Committee’s digital-assets subcommittee and has led work on the bill.
The changes follow the Senate’s failure to advance the measure. Lawmakers on the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees continue to negotiate, while stakeholders are privately preparing plans for the 120th Congress.
The dispute covers who should help write the legislation and how it should address decentralized finance, tokenization, Commodity Futures Trading Commission authority, stablecoin yield, banking access, enforcement risks and ethics provisions. Some advocates are looking to a lame-duck session after the midterm elections, while others expect financial regulators to fill gaps through new rules. Some participants view the bill as effectively stalled.
The Senate failed to advance a key procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, putting the legislation’s immediate path in doubt.
The legislation’s unresolved issues include decentralized finance, tokenization, CFTC authority and stablecoin yield.
Banks opposed parts of those changes, while law enforcement agencies raised concerns about developer protections and illicit-finance risks. Compliance organizations remain among the stakeholders involved in the broader legislative debate.
The banking industry continues to support a durable digital-asset framework and is seeking targeted changes to stablecoin-yield policies. The Blockchain Association also remains involved in efforts to seek consumer protections and clearer rules.
At the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commissioner Hester Peirce’s term expires Friday, Oct. 2. Peirce plans to return to academia after serving as an influential voice in crypto regulation since 2018.
The 120th Congress will need to work with crypto trade groups, banks, law enforcement agencies, compliance organizations and other stakeholders if lawmakers want to send a revised bill to the president. The competing demands leave bipartisan compromise as the central test for the legislation’s next phase.
