Journalist
Hassan Shittu
Journalist
Share
The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee voted by a narrow margin to advance its own proposal of the long-awaited crypto market structure bill, bringing the overall CLARITY Act process a step further toward a full Senate test.
After a markup session that lasted a little more than an hour, the committee voted on the bill, 12–11, in a party-line vote.
The amendments put forward were all voted down, mostly along partisan lines.
Clarity Bill Draws Lines Between the SEC and CFTC
The bill is intended to shift the U.S. crypto regulations from an enforcement-first model to more explicit statutory guidelines.
It would have the Commodity Futures Trading Commission with primary supervision over digital commodity spot markets of digital commodities like Bitcoin and Ethereum, but leave the Securities and Exchange Commission the authority to regulate the sale of digital assets as investment contracts.
Proponents state that the bill would make clear which regulator regulates what, create registration rules on intermediaries, and add protection of consumers, such as asset segregation and disclosure rules.
Throughout the markup, the Democrats insisted on ethics provisions and increased engagement among the parties.
Senator Cory Booker said legislators could not afford to develop rules to criminalize software writing by mistake, yet self-custody and open-source codes were necessary components of a viable scheme.
Booker also complained that the current version of the draft was not quite the same as a bipartisan version to be negotiated with Committee Chairman John Boozman at the end of last year, blaming political pressure and White House involvement for complicating talks.
A number of amendments directed towards ethical issues did not take off.
A motion to prohibit elected officeholders from possessing or making money on digital property during their term was suggested by Senator Michael Bennet and was voted down 12-11.
A provision proposed by Senator Dick Durbin seeks to prevent federal agencies from providing financial assistance to crypto intermediaries that enter bankruptcy.
The same amendment was also turned down, as Boozman cites that the bill does not give authority to bailouts in the first place.
CLARITY Act Advances, but Final Senate Deal Remains Elusive
The vote of the partisan committee, however, is a milestone in a process of legislation that has spanned several congressional sessions.
With a supermajority vote of Republicans and Democrats in the House, its version of the CLARITY Act was passed in July 2025, but stalled once the bill got to the Senate.
The committee that would review the legislation was divided between the Agriculture Committee and the Senate Banking Committee, and it was an indication of overlapping authority on commodities, securities, and financial institutions.
Even though the Agriculture Committee now has its version developed, the work in the Banking Committee is still pending.
A proposed markup in the early months of this year was delayed due to disagreements and industry opposition, including objections to the provisions on the basis of limiting yield on payment stablecoins.
Banking lawmakers must still finalize and approve their text before the two Senate versions can be merged into a single bill.
The next step will most probably conclude the fate of the bill since once the Senate committees have a consensus in their versions, the package will be taken to the Senate floor.
If the bill passed by the Senate is not the same as the House version, it would then be subject to a conference committee to resolve differences and sent back to both chambers to be voted on.
After the vote, it goes to the president, who can either sign, veto, or pocket-veto the bill.
