Senate Banking clears CLARITY Act, sends bill to full Senate

The Senate Banking Committee voted 15-9 on Thursday, May 14, to advance H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, sending the cryptocurrency market-structure bill to the full Senate. CNBC reported that Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland joined all Republicans on the panel in backing the measure. (cnbc.com) The committee had scheduled the markup for 10:30 a.m. in Room 538 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, according to the panel’s hearing notice. Chair Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, said before the markup that the bill text reflected continued negotiations with Democratic colleagues and input from regulators, law enforcement, financial institutions, innovators and consumer advocates. (banking.senate.gov) Scott, Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina released the updated text on May 12 as the basis for the committee’s markup. Elizabeth Warren, the committee’s top Democrat, opposed the bill during the markup and called it “a pro-industry crypto bill” that would put consumers, investors, national security and the financial system at risk. (cnbc.com) Warren also said the committee had not held a public hearing on the bill before moving to markup. ### Which senators supplied the votes that moved the bill? CNBC said the bill passed 15-9, with Gallego and Alsobrooks joining Republicans on the committee. The vote gave backers bipartisan support, even as the panel split largely along party lines. (banking.senate.gov) Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who has worked with Republicans on the legislation, said during the hearing that lawmakers should keep negotiating on unresolved issues, including ethics provisions and tools to address illicit use of digital assets. CNBC reported that both Republicans and Democrats said they wanted to keep working through those disagreements. (banking.senate.gov) ### What does the Senate draft say about stablecoin yield? The Senate Banking Committee’s section-by-section summary says the bill would prohibit covered digital asset service providers and their affiliates from paying U.S. customers passive, deposit-like interest or yield on payment stablecoin balances. (cnbc.com) The same summary says bona fide activity-based or transaction-based rewards could still be allowed under joint rules issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Treasury Department. The committee’s materials also say the bill would create new law-enforcement tools around digital assets, including a safe harbor for service providers and permitted payment stablecoin issuers that temporarily pause suspicious transactions at law enforcement’s request. (cnbc.com) A separate Banking Committee fact sheet says the bill would let the Treasury Department act against foreign jurisdictions, institutions or transaction types that pose a primary money-laundering concern involving digital assets. (banking.senate.gov) ### Where does Treasury fit into the rulemaking? The Senate summary says the SEC, CFTC and Treasury would jointly write rules governing the line between prohibited interest-like payments and permitted rewards tied to activity or transactions. That gives Treasury a formal role in implementation alongside the two main market regulators. The broader bill text and committee materials describe a framework that assigns disclosure, registration and market oversight responsibilities across the SEC and CFTC while adding anti-money-laundering and sanctions tools that involve Treasury authorities. Senate Republicans said in a May 12 release that the legislation was built after consultation with regulators and law enforcement. (banking.senate.gov) ### What are critics saying as the bill heads to the floor? Warren said on May 14 that lawmakers should not advance legislation “written by the crypto industry for the crypto industry.” She argued the bill would weaken consumer and national-security protections and said members were being blocked from offering amendments to strengthen it. (banking.senate.gov) Banks, unions and law-enforcement groups also oppose parts of the measure, CNBC reported, arguing that some provisions would hurt consumers and endanger the financial system. Backers including Coinbase, Circle, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz support the legislation because they want a clearer federal framework for the industry, CNBC said. (banking.senate.gov) ### What happens next in the Senate? H.R. 3633 now goes to the full Senate, where lawmakers would still need to pass the bill before reconciling any differences with the House version and sending it to President Donald Trump. CNBC said the measure still faces “powerful opposition” and has not yet become law. (banking.senate.gov) The Senate Banking Committee posted the May 14 executive session notice on its hearings page, and the committee’s released text and section-by-section materials remain available through the panel’s website as the bill moves to the floor. (banking.senate.gov) (cnbc.com)