Senate Banking Committee advances '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, sending the House-passed crypto market-structure bill to the Senate floor. Chairman Tim Scott, the South Carolina Republican who leads the panel, said the legislation would set “clear rules of the road” for digital assets after what he described as nearly a year of bipartisan negotiations. (banking.senate.gov) Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat, said before the markup that the bill was “pro-industry” and would put consumers, investors and national security at risk. The measure the committee considered was H.R. 3633, a bill the House had already sent to the Senate and that was referred to Banking in September 2025. (banking.senate.gov) Congress.gov’s bill text says the measure would create a regulatory framework for digital commodities, amend securities and commodities law, and include provisions tied to central bank digital currency. The committee’s hearing notice listed the May 14 session as an executive session to consider H.R. 3633. ### Why was the Senate Banking Committee marking up a House bill? H.R. 3633 arrived in the Senate on September 18, 2025, after House action earlier that year, according to Congress.gov. Using a House bill can speed Senate consideration because the chamber can amend and move legislation that has already cleared the other side of Capitol Hill. (banking.senate.gov) The Senate Banking Committee’s Republican leadership referred to the measure as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, or the CLARITY Act. May 12 committee materials from Scott, Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said the text released ahead of the markup reflected negotiations with Democratic colleagues and input from regulators, law enforcement, financial institutions, innovators and consumer advocates. Scott said the bill had been strengthened through talks over the past year. (congress.gov) Tillis called the revised language a “bipartisan compromise.” ### What would the bill actually do to crypto oversight? A Congressional Research Service overview says H.R. 3633 would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission a central role in regulating digital commodities and related intermediaries, while preserving parts of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s authority over some primary-market crypto transactions. (congress.gov) The CRS summary says the bill would define “digital commodity” as a digital asset whose value is linked to blockchain use and would exclude securities, derivatives and stablecoins from that definition. The bill text on Congress.gov shows sections covering expedited registration for digital commodity exchanges, brokers and dealers, treatment of investment contract assets, anti-fraud authority over permitted payment stablecoins, custody by banking institutions and application of the Bank Secrecy Act. (banking.senate.gov) The same text includes an exclusion for certain decentralized finance activities and directs multiple rulemakings. ### Who backed it, and who fought it? Tim Scott said after the vote that Democrats and Republicans had “worked through real differences” and came together around consumer protection, innovation and enforcement tools against bad actors. Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho, a Republican member of the committee, said the bill would provide investors and consumers with regulatory certainty while protecting consumers and fostering innovation. (congress.gov) Elizabeth Warren said in opening remarks at the markup that lawmakers should not advance what she called a “pro-industry crypto bill.” In a May 12 statement on the revised text, Warren said the bill would put investors, national security and the financial system at risk and would “turbocharge Donald Trump’s crypto corruption.” (congress.gov) ### What does “15-9” say about the politics? The committee’s official release described the vote as bipartisan, but it did not list the roll call in the press statement. Scott’s office said the legislation advanced after “good-faith bipartisan negotiations,” and the 15 votes in favor indicate at least some Democratic support on a committee where Republicans do not hold 15 seats alone. Warren’s opposition and the 9 votes against show the measure still faces resistance from Democrats who have pressed for stronger investor-protection and ethics provisions. (banking.senate.gov) That assessment is based on the committee’s partisan makeup and the public statements from Scott and Warren. ### What happens next in the Senate? The committee said on May 14 that the bill now moves to the Senate floor. (banking.senate.gov) Congress.gov’s scheduling pages show that floor action depends on Senate leadership calendars and the chamber’s calendar of business, meaning there was no floor date posted in the materials reviewed. The next concrete milestone will be a Senate floor scheduling notice or a new Congress.gov action entry for H.R. 3633. As of the sources reviewed on May 16, 2026, the confirmed step after committee approval was floor consideration in the Senate. (banking.senate.gov)