CLARITY Act clears Senate Banking 15-9

The Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act on May 14 by a 15-9 vote, moving the digital-asset market structure bill to the full Senate. Chairman Tim Scott said the committee approved H.R. 3633 after what he described as nearly a year of bipartisan negotiations. The measure is formally titled the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 and had already passed the House in July 2025, according to Congress.gov. The committee’s vote came during a May 14 executive session in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. ### Which bill actually cleared the committee? H.R. 3633 is the bill the committee advanced. Congress.gov lists it as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, also called the CLARITY Act of 2025, and shows it was received in the Senate on September 18, 2025 after passing the House 294-134 on July 17, 2025. The bill text also includes the “Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act” as a short title. (banking.senate.gov) May 14 was the date of the Senate Banking Committee markup. The committee’s hearing page says members met in executive session at 10:30 a.m. to consider H.R. 3633. A committee press release issued the same day said the bill advanced out of committee by a vote of 15-9. ### What does the CLARITY Act do? The Congressional Research Service said H.R. 3633 would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission a central role in regulating digital commodities and related intermediaries. (congress.gov) The same CRS summary said the bill would preserve certain aspects of Securities and Exchange Commission authority over primary-market crypto transactions, with a limited exemption from SEC registration requirements for some fundraising. (banking.senate.gov) The CRS summary said the bill would define a digital commodity as a digital asset whose value is “intrinsically linked” to the use of the blockchain, while excluding securities, derivatives and stablecoins. It said issuers could certify to the SEC that a related blockchain is mature, and that the SEC would assess maturity against criteria set out in the bill. (congress.gov) The same CRS document said issuers using the exemption would be limited to $75 million in digital commodity sales over a 12-month period and would have to file an offering statement. It also said the SEC would be directed to write implementing rules within 270 days of enactment for blockchains that fail to mature. ### Who backed the measure, and who opposed it? (congress.gov) Tim Scott, the committee’s Republican chairman, said after the vote that members had “worked through real differences” and came together around “protecting consumers, supporting innovation, and keeping the future of finance in America.” Scott said the legislation would bring digital assets “into the sunlight with clear rules, stronger safeguards, and better tools to stop bad actors.” (congress.gov) Elizabeth Warren, the committee’s top Democrat, argued against the bill before the markup. In opening remarks released by her office on May 14, Warren said, “Our job is not to advance a pro-industry crypto bill that will put American consumers, investors, our national security and our financial system at risk.” Her office also released a separate advisory that day saying the bill failed to address vulnerabilities exploited by criminals, terrorists and foreign adversaries. (banking.senate.gov) ### Why was this vote important procedurally? The Senate Banking Committee’s action was the next formal step after House passage. Congress.gov shows the bill had been sitting in the Senate Banking Committee since September 2025, and the May 14 markup moved it out of committee for possible floor action. May 15 committee materials described the vote as bipartisan, and the committee said the bill now moves to the Senate floor. (banking.senate.gov) Any next step from here would require Senate leadership to schedule floor consideration of H.R. 3633. (banking.senate.gov) (congress.gov)