Senate Republicans Release Revised CLARITY Act Ahead of Sept. 15 Vote

Crypto Regulation & US Policy News

Senate Republicans released a revised version of the CLARITY Act on Sept. 10, ahead of the bill’s first procedural vote scheduled for Sept. 15. The updated text runs 630 pages and was released by Sen. Cynthia Lummis alongside fellow Republicans. If passed, the CLARITY Act would mark the first time the US has regulated the crypto industry at the federal level.

Lummis said the revised bill incorporates more than 114 provisions requested by Democratic colleagues. “Unlike rulemaking, legislation gives this industry a lasting solution that shields it from the whiplash of changes in the White House,” she said in a statement. The bill has been working through the Senate for over a year, facing repeated setbacks along the way.

Non-DeFi Protocols Face New CFTC Registration Requirement

One of the most significant additions in the revised text is a new framework for what the bill calls “non-decentralized finance trading protocols.” The bill defines these as persons or groups that have direct or indirect authority to control or materially alter the functionality, operation, or rules of a decentralized finance trading protocol. Those entities would be required to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the bill directs the CFTC and Treasury to write the relevant rules. A crypto industry source told The Block the non-DeFi section was something Democrats specifically asked to be added.

The updated text also clarifies that DeFi provisions apply only to “spot and cash digital commodity transactions.” Lummis said that language was intended to address concerns from tribal governments about the bill’s potential impact on prediction markets. She also noted changes to how credit unions handle crypto activities.

Related Article:An Imperfect CLARITY Act Beats More Delay, Say Crypto Execs

Ethics Dispute Over Trump’s Crypto Holdings Remains Unresolved

The CLARITY Act’s path to President Donald Trump’s desk remains uncertain. The bill’s biggest unresolved issue involves how to handle Trump’s growing crypto holdings, which are linked to World Liberty Financial and his Official Trump (TRUMP)meme coin and have grown to hundreds of millions of dollars.

In July, Trump agreed to an ethics provision that would bar public officials, employees, and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets. The Justice Department, not state attorneys general, would enforce that provision, and it would expire in January 2029. Democrats pushed back, calling the language insufficient. A bipartisan group including Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has since sent an alternative version of the ethics language. The revised Sept. 10 text does not include significant changes to the ethics section and still gives the Justice Department lead enforcement authority. Politico reported that the latest version has no Democratic support, which Lummis will need to advance the bill. Lummis is set to leave Congress in January 2027 and is not seeking another term.

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