The Senate committee published a draft bill to structure the U.S. crypto market, named the CLARITY Act, as a Republican initiative.

Main provisions

The draft outlines several structural changes intended to reassign regulatory responsibilities and clarify market categories for digital assets.

• DeFi developers would be removed from direct securities regulation, which reduces the risk of enforcement actions by the CFTC.
• The bill creates a category called "digital commodities", covering blockchain tokens and memecoins, exempting them from SEC oversight and placing them under the CFTC.
• NFTs, stablecoins and derivatives are explicitly excluded from the draft’s scope and remain outside its definitions.
• All market participants — exchanges, brokers, custodians and DAOs — must register under a simplified temporary status with compliance requirements.
• The text fixes definitions for DeFi and establishes criteria for decentralization, and introduces a retail investor representative role at the CFTC.

Legislative outlook and timing

Passage of the bill in the Senate will require support from at least seven Democrats to secure the necessary majority for approval.

Committee hearings on amendments are scheduled for 27.01.2026, marking the next formal step in the bill’s consideration and potential revision.

Context

Supporters frame the draft as a way to delineate agency roles in the evolving crypto ecosystem, while the proposal currently lacks bipartisan backing in the Senate committee.