CLARITY Act gains law-enforcement backing

Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase’s chief policy officer, said in a June 2 post on X that more than 160 former national security, intelligence and law-enforcement officials had signed a letter backing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. The letter, published by the Blockchain Association and addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, urged the Senate to advance the bill. It framed the measure as a way to bring more digital-asset activity “under American rules, with American oversight, and subject to American law enforcement.” The backing matters because opposition to the CLARITY Act has included warnings from some critics that the bill could weaken anti-money-laundering enforcement or create openings for illicit finance. The June 2 letter argues the opposite. It says a federal framework would move more activity into regulated channels, improve visibility for investigators and prosecutors, and strengthen tools to combat financial crime. (theblockchainassociation.org) ### Who signed the letter, and what did they tell the Senate? The June 2 letter says it was signed by former national security, intelligence and law-enforcement officials, and was sent to Thune and Schumer in support of advancing the CLARITY Act. The document says digital-asset activity is growing globally and warns that, without U.S. rules and oversight, activity could continue moving offshore and beyond the reach of American investigators. (theblockchainassociation.org) The Blockchain Association letter describes the bill as an “enforcement” and “national security” measure as well as a market-structure bill. A separate report on the letter said the signatories included former officials from the Justice Department, FBI, Secret Service, CIA, NSA, Treasury, FinCEN, IRS Criminal Investigation and the DEA. (theblockchainassociation.org) ### What parts of the bill are supporters pointing to? Section 201 of the June 2 letter says the bill would expand Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance obligations to digital commodity brokers, dealers and exchanges, including anti-money-laundering program requirements. The letter also points to Section 203, which would create a Treasury-led information-sharing pilot involving the Justice Department, FBI, DEA and private-sector entities focused on illicit-finance threats and emerging risks. (theblockchainassociation.org) Sections 204, 205, 301, 303, 305, 307 and 308 are also cited by supporters as enforcement provisions. The letter says those sections would create an interagency working group on anti-money-laundering proposals, add fraud and transaction-monitoring requirements for digital-asset kiosks, expand suspicious-activity reporting and due-diligence obligations to some non-decentralized finance trading protocols, extend Section 311 special-measures authority to digital-asset activity, allow temporary holds on suspicious transactions, modernize seizure and forfeiture authorities, and set risk-management standards for intermediaries and decentralized-finance activity. (theblockchainassociation.org) ### Where does the bill stand now? H.R. 3633 is the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, according to Congress.gov. The bill passed the House in July 2025 and was received in the Senate on Sept. 18, 2025. The Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill on May 14 by a 15-9 vote, according to the committee. Legislative tracking data says the measure was reported by the committee on June 1 and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar the same day. (theblockchainassociation.org) (congress.gov) ### Why is law-enforcement backing notable now? Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said on May 14 that the bill would put consumers, investors, national security and the financial system at risk. Senate Banking Committee minority staff also published an advisory arguing that the CLARITY Act, as written, would leave vulnerabilities that criminals, terrorists and foreign adversaries could exploit. (banking.senate.gov) The June 2 letter directly answers that line of criticism. Its signatories told Senate leaders that clearer federal rules would strengthen oversight, expand compliance obligations and give law enforcement more workable tools across the digital-asset market. (banking.senate.gov) ### What happens next in the Senate? The Senate’s next step is floor consideration by the full chamber after the bill’s placement on the Legislative Calendar on June 1. The June 2 letter asks Thune and Schumer to advance the measure, and the bill remains listed as H.R. 3633 in the Senate after the Banking Committee vote. (legiscan.com) (theblockchainassociation.org)