A final working draft of the Clarity Act, the long-awaited US crypto market structure bill, began circulating on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, bringing the legislation closer to a floor vote than at any point in its history.
The bill, which runs to hundreds of pages, would establish clear rules for digital assets and divide oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission . A contentious provision banning presidents and senior federal officials from holding personal digital assets is included but set to expire in 2029, with the Department of Justice assigned to enforce related ethics complaints. The text was posted at Punchbowl News. Democratic senators had not yet reviewed the draft as of Wednesday afternoon, and several expressed reservations about the ethics provision. Senator Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democrat who voted for the bill in committee, said having the DOJ enforce an ethics rule "is an unserious offer". The Senate needs at least 10 Democratic votes to reach the 60-vote threshold required for passage. [1]
Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, a lead negotiator, said she remained committed to reaching a deal in the coming days. Senate Majority Leader John Thune plans to move forward with floor action before the summer recess. One provision that may reassure the decentralised finance sector is the retention of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which shields developers who do not control user assets from being treated as money transmitters. The draft also includes new language on federal preemption and provisional registration procedures.