[Today’s Signal] Will the U.S. End Crypto’s “Regulatory Gap”? CLARITY Act Heads for September Vote
U.S. crypto policy is moving beyond deregulation toward the design of a formal market structure. Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed a motion on August 8 to advance a key procedural vote on the CLARITY Act, with a vote expected after the Senate returns from its mid-September recess. Passage will
The U.S. legislative landscape is shifting from a laissez-faire approach to crypto regulation toward the establishment of a structured market framework. Senate Majority Leader John Thune initiated a procedural motion on August 8 to advance the CLARITY Act, with an anticipated vote scheduled post the Senate's September recess. To pass, the bill requires a 60-vote majority, implying backing from every Republican senator and at least eight Democrats.
Central to the CLARITY Act is the need to determine whether digital tokens are securities or commodities and to clarify the division of supervisory authority between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The U.S. crypto market has grappled with legal ambiguity regarding the application of securities laws to specific tokens and the respective regulatory jurisdictions.
If enacted, the bill would create a federal regulatory framework for crypto trading, brokerage, and custody, building upon recent stablecoin regulations.
The significance of this legislative shift extends beyond the fluctuations in Bitcoin or individual token prices. Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, the crypto industry has earmarked approximately $200 million to support pro-crypto candidates, with its leading political action committee, Fairshake, raising over $136 million during the current election cycle.
This financial commitment, coupled with the industry's $170 million expenditure during the 2024 election, led to a significant policy victory with the passage of the GENIUS Act, which governs dollar-pegged stablecoins.
The CLARITY Act's impact lies in defining not just the permissible status of crypto assets, but also the entities allowed to issue them, facilitate their trading, and oversee the market. Exchanges, brokers, and custodians would be mandated to adhere to registration, disclosure, and consumer-protection regulations. Tokens operating on sufficiently decentralized networks may be classified as commodities.
This legislation aims to establish foundational elements necessary to integrate crypto assets into the established financial system.
Notably, the bill addresses concerns over financial stability and investor protection. One contentious issue is the payment of rewards on stablecoin holdings. The Senate proposal seeks to restrict rewards on idle stablecoin balances, similar to interest-bearing bank deposits, while permitting incentives linked to genuine transaction activity.
Banks express apprehension that expanded stablecoin rewards could divert deposits away from traditional banking, potentially weakening their capacity to extend credit. The banking sector estimates that the expansion of stablecoins could siphon about $500 billion in deposits from U.S. banks by the end of 2028. Traditional banks argue that curbing third-party exchanges from offering stablecoin rewards would be akin to anti-competitive legislation, intended to shield incumbent banks.
The CLARITY Act debate transcends a simple clash between crypto companies and banks. It has evolved into a competition over who will attract deposits, process payments, and provide credit in the digital economy. Political obstacles persist, with some Democratic lawmakers advocating for stronger ethics provisions due to potential conflicts of interest involving President Donald Trump's family and its crypto ventures.
Reports suggest that the Trump family amassed around $1.4 billion from crypto-related businesses in 2025, making this issue a significant factor in legislative negotiations.
Despite these hurdles, the Senate's intention to bring the bill back to a floor vote is noteworthy. Washington is endeavoring to consolidate stablecoins, token classification, exchanges, custodians, and institutional trading under a unified regulatory framework. This framework could potentially extend to tokenized securities and government bonds, cross-border payments, and transactions orchestrated by AI agents.
The CLARITY Act marks a transition from deciding the viability of crypto markets to determining who can issue digital assets, who can trade them, who will supervise the market, and how this new system will interface with conventional finance.
Written by urgent.news from Korea IT Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
