Crypto Bill heads toward key senate vote in September: What Trump-backed Clarity Act proposes

The US Senate is nearing a significant vote on September 15 to pass the Clarity Act, a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. If the bill passes, it could provide major victories for President Donald Trump, the cryptocurrency industry, and reshape the regulatory landscape for digital assets.

The Clarity Act aims to clarify whether digital assets are securities or commodities, and it would establish the regulatory responsibilities of agencies like the SEC and CFTC. One of the most politically sensitive provisions would prohibit certain politicians, including Trump, from issuing or sponsoring digital assets until 2029. This provision is particularly contentious, as Democrats demand stronger ethics safeguards and insist state attorneys general cannot bring enforcement cases under this provision.

The legislation also tackles stablecoin rewards, prohibiting crypto companies from offering rewards that resemble traditional bank deposits on idle stablecoin balances. However, rewards linked to actual transactions are allowed. Crypto companies argue that a ban on rewards would limit competition, while banks contend that it could discourage customers from moving deposits to stablecoins.

Tougher anti-money-laundering rules would apply to digital commodity exchanges, brokers, and dealers, requiring them to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act, including customer identification, due diligence, anti-money-laundering controls, and suspicious activity monitoring. Crypto companies would face significant compliance requirements, despite arguments that they should not be subject to the same rules as traditional banks.

Crypto companies would gain a fundraising exemption, allowing them to raise up to $50 million annually and totaling $200 million without registering the fundraising with the SEC. This exemption could significantly reduce the SEC's ability to classify a wide range of token sales as unregistered securities offerings.

The bill also addresses decentralized finance (DeFi), establishing criteria for determining whether a platform is genuinely decentralized. Platforms that fail to meet the decentralization threshold could be treated as financial institutions and face requirements like suspicious-activity reporting and transaction monitoring. Additionally, the bill would address tokenized assets, clarifying that putting a security on a blockchain does not remove it from securities laws.