Senate Republicans Release Revised Clarity Act Ahead of September 15 Vote

Senate Republicans on Thursday circulated a revised Clarity Act that tightens oversight of crypto trading platforms the bill describes as “decentralized-in-name-only.” The 630-page draft would require trading protocols that are controlled or can be materially changed by people or groups to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while directing the CFTC and Treasury to produce implementing rules for such platforms.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R., Wyo.) released the updated text ahead of a procedural Senate vote scheduled for September 15, calling the version the product of bipartisan negotiations in August. She said the changes limit certain DeFi rules to spot and cash transactions and incorporate more than 100 edits requested by Democrats, and she highlighted provisions including a felony bar for fraudsters, $150 million in funding for the CFTC, and tougher measures aimed at large platforms.

The bill leaves most of the ethics language from the July draft intact; those measures bar public officials, federal employees and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets. Democrats have pushed for broader restrictions tied to President Donald Trump’s crypto interests, and a Politico report says no Senate Democrats support the revised bill.

The Clarity Act’s backers say passage would create a federal market framework for digital assets, clarify jurisdictional lines between the CFTC and Securities and Exchange Commission, and largely reopen the way for token sales by crypto startups. The measure’s treatment of stablecoin yields and other rewards has prompted vigorous lobbying: the industry group Stand With Crypto reported nearly 50,000 outreach contacts to members of Congress in August, while community bankers have pressed senators on the bill’s rewards provisions.

With the September 15 procedural vote viewed as a decisive moment for the long-awaited legislation, proponents and opponents continue to press lawmakers in home states and on Capitol Hill as the Senate considers whether to advance the updated Clarity Act.