Senate Banking panel passes CLARITY Act 15-9

The Senate Banking Committee voted 15-9 on May 14 to advance H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, moving one of the most consequential crypto market-structure bills now pending in Washington to the Senate floor. Chairman Tim Scott said the measure followed nearly a year of bipartisan negotiations and would create “clear rules of the road for digital assets.” Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren opposed it, calling it “a pro-industry crypto bill” that she said would put consumers, investors and national security at risk. (congress.gov) (banking.senate.gov) The bill is not a fresh Senate-only draft. (congress.gov) Congress.gov identifies CLARITY as H.R. 3633, a House-passed bill introduced in May 2025 and received in the Senate on September 18, 2025. The committee vote marks the latest step in a longer effort to build a federal framework for digital-asset markets after years of fights over whether tokens should be treated mainly as securities, commodities, or something in between. ### What exactly did the committee move? H.R. 3633 is the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, and the Senate Banking Committee considered it in executive session on May 14. The committee’s majority said the bill would establish a market-structure framework for digital assets and move it to the Senate floor after the 15-9 vote. (banking.senate.gov) Congress.gov shows the bill already passed the House on July 17, 2025, by a 294-134 vote. That matters because the Senate is now working from a bill with an existing House legislative vehicle, rather than starting from a separate Senate bill number. (congress.gov) ### How would CLARITY divide power between the SEC and CFTC? The Congressional Research Service said the bill would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission a central role in regulating “digital commodities” and related intermediaries, while preserving parts of Securities and Exchange Commission authority over some primary-market crypto transactions. CRS said the bill also creates a limited exemption from SEC registration requirements for certain fundraising tied to digital commodities. (banking.senate.gov) CRS said the bill defines a digital commodity as a digital asset whose value is “intrinsically linked” to blockchain use, while excluding securities, derivatives and stablecoins. (congress.gov) The measure also sets tests for whether a blockchain is “mature,” including whether it is not controlled by one person or a group under common control. ### What new obligations would crypto firms face? CRS said issuers using the bill’s exemption would have to file an offering statement and would face added reporting requirements if their blockchains are not yet mature. The bill would also direct the SEC to write implementing rules within 270 days of enactment for blockchains that fail to mature. (congress.gov) Senate Banking Republicans said the legislation would preserve anti-fraud authority, strengthen disclosure requirements and create coordinated oversight. In a May 13 letter posted by the committee, AARP backed provisions in Section 205 that would require cryptocurrency kiosk operators to register with the Treasury Department as money transmitters and would preserve state authority over those machines. (congress.gov) ### Who backed it, and who objected? Tim Scott, Cynthia Lummis and Thom Tillis released updated bill text on May 12 and said it reflected negotiations with Democratic colleagues and outside stakeholders. (congress.gov) Scott said the legislation would put “consumers first,” while Tillis called the revised language a “bipartisan compromise.” Elizabeth Warren said on May 14 that the committee had not held a public hearing on the bill and argued it would “grease the skids” for what she called President Donald Trump’s “crypto grift.” Her statement underscored the political divide that is likely to shape the debate when the measure reaches the full Senate. (banking.senate.gov) ### What happens next in the Senate? The committee vote sends H.R. 3633 to the full Senate, according to the panel’s May 14 release. Congress.gov, as of May 21, still listed the bill as having been referred to the Senate Banking Committee and did not show a scheduled floor vote date. (banking.senate.gov) Any next step now runs through Senate floor scheduling and, if the chamber passes a version different from the House bill, eventual reconciliation between the two chambers. For now, the named vehicle remains H.R. 3633, the House-passed CLARITY Act. (congress.gov) (banking.senate.gov 1) (banking.senate.gov 2)