Senate Banking passes CLARITY Act 15-9

The Senate Banking Committee voted 15-9 on May 14 to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, a crypto market-structure bill that would redraw the regulatory line between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The vote moved H.R. 3633 out of committee and onto the Senate floor, according to the committee’s release and hearing notice. (banking.senate.gov) Chairman Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, said the bill followed “nearly a year of good-faith bipartisan negotiations.” Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, opposed the measure and said it would put consumers, investors and national security at risk. ### What did the committee actually approve on May 14? (banking.senate.gov) H.R. 3633 is the House-passed Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, which the Senate Banking Committee took up in an executive session at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 14, in Dirksen 538. The committee’s majority said the bill passed 15-9 and now moves to the Senate floor. Congress.gov shows the bill was received in the Senate in September 2025 after House action and referred to the Banking Committee. The Senate committee’s vote does not enact the measure; it places the bill on the Senate calendar for possible floor consideration. ### What would the CLARITY Act change for crypto regulation? The Congressional Research Service said the bill would give the CFTC a central role in regulating “digital commodities” and related intermediaries while preserving parts of SEC authority over primary-market crypto transactions. (banking.senate.gov) CRS said the bill also creates a limited exemption from Securities Act registration for some fundraising tied to digital commodities, subject to conditions and disclosures. (banking.senate.gov) The bill text on Congress.gov lists provisions on expedited registration for digital commodity exchanges, brokers and dealers; treatment of custody activities by banking institutions; broker and dealer disclosures on asset treatment; and CFTC jurisdiction over digital commodity transactions. The text also includes sections on mature blockchain requirements, secondary transactions and application of the Bank Secrecy Act. (congress.gov) ### Who backed it, and who opposed it? Tim Scott said after the vote that Republicans and Democrats “came together” around a bill with “clear rules, stronger safeguards, and better tools to stop bad actors.” Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Thom Tillis of North Carolina said on May 12 that the markup text reflected continued negotiations with Democratic colleagues and outside stakeholders. (congress.gov) Elizabeth Warren said in opening remarks before the markup that “our job is not to advance a pro-industry crypto bill” that would endanger consumers, investors, national security and the financial system. Warren’s staff also released a separate advisory on May 14 arguing the bill failed to close vulnerabilities tied to criminals, terrorists and foreign adversaries. (congress.gov) ### Why was the vote 15-9 notable? The 15 votes in favor mattered because the Banking Committee has 24 members, and the tally indicates support beyond the committee’s Republican bloc. Crypto-focused coverage on May 14 reported that Democratic Senators Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland joined Republicans in backing the bill. Reuters could not independently confirm the full roll-call from the committee materials available online, but the committee’s announced total was 15-9. (banking.senate.gov) The Senate majority framed the vote as bipartisan progress after months of drafting and revisions. The minority framed the same markup as a test of whether lawmakers would tighten or loosen crypto oversight. (banking.senate.gov) ### Where do custody, listings and banking fit into the bill? Section headings in the Senate-received text show the bill addresses custody by banking institutions, alternative trading system eligibility, exchange and broker registration, and disclosures on how customer assets are treated. Those sections are central to industry arguments that the bill would create a workable federal framework for trading and holding digital assets. (banking.senate.gov) Banking Committee Republicans also said in fact sheets released before the markup that the bill includes anti-fraud provisions, Bank Secrecy Act treatment, risk-management standards for intermediaries, and studies on mixers, tumblers, cybersecurity and national security threats. Those claims come from the committee majority, not from neutral legislative analysis. (banking.senate.gov) ### What happens next in the Senate? The next formal step is Senate floor consideration of H.R. 3633, the committee and Congress.gov materials show. The Banking Committee has posted the markup notice and committee statements, and Congress.gov hosts the Senate-received bill text for members, staff and outside groups tracking changes. (congress.gov) May 14 is the last confirmed procedural milestone available in public committee materials reviewed for this story. Any floor timing, amendment package or whip count will depend on Senate leadership and whether backers can hold the bipartisan votes they showed in committee. (banking.senate.gov 1) (banking.senate.gov 2)