The Clarity Act Clears the Senate Banking Committee. Here’s What Comes Next.

Last Thursday, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs voted 15-9, on a bipartisan basis, to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (H.R. 3633) out of committee. The vote represents a significant step toward a comprehensive U.S. framework for digital asset market structure, and one of the most meaningful indications to date that durable legislation is within reach. The Digital Sovereignty Alliance (DSA) was present at the markup, monitoring the proceedings as the Committee worked through the bill and considered amendments.

Bipartisan Leadership and Acknowledgments

DSA thanks Chairman Tim Scott, Subcommittee Chair Cynthia Lummis, and Ranking Member Mark Warner for their leadership in steering a complex piece of legislation through a lengthy markup with rigor and a genuine willingness to engage on the substance. DSA also appreciates the sustained engagement of Senators Thom Tillis, Ruben Gallego, Angela Alsobrooks, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Raphael Warnock, along with members of the Senate Banking Committee on both sides of the aisle, for their continued work to refine the legislation as it advances toward the floor.

Why the Clarity Act Matters

The Clarity Act is the result of sustained, bipartisan effort. It puts in place a workable set of rules for digital asset markets, clarifies long-standing questions about agency jurisdiction between the SEC and CFTC, and creates a credible path for compliant activity in the United States. It provides the certainty that has been missing from this conversation for far too long.

In a statement published on X following the vote, Adrian Wall, Managing Director of the Digital Sovereignty Alliance, said:

“The Senate Banking Committee’s vote represents a significant step forward in the effort to establish a clear and durable regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States. But the work ahead is just as important as the progress made. The path to the Senate floor runs through difficult and necessary conversations on ethics, financial crime, and who this framework is ultimately built to serve.

The Digital Sovereignty Alliance will remain at the table through all of it, working with Senators from both sides of the aisle to advance policy that delivers genuine clarity, accountability, and positions the U.S. as the undisputed leader in the future of digital finance and technology.”

A Substantive, Bipartisan Markup

DSA shares Wall’s sentiment. Thursday's outcome is the product of months of serious, bipartisan negotiation, and the discussion at the markup reflected that. The exchanges between members were notably more substantive and technically grounded than in prior legislative cycles, reflecting a growing recognition that digital asset market structure legislation is no longer a theoretical exercise, but an increasingly urgent policy priority.

Several Democratic members who voted against the bill emphasized that their opposition in committee should not be interpreted as a final position on floor passage. Senator Alsobrooks characterized her yes vote as a vote "to keep working," rather than an endorsement of the bill in its current form for floor passage. Senator Warner pulled back his amendment in light of the progress reflected in the updated DeFi language, while committing to continue refining the outstanding issues. Similarly, Senator Gallego voted in favor in committee while emphasizing that the bill's ethics provisions must be strengthened before final enactment.

Several significant amendments adopted during the markup meaningfully improved the underlying text. A bipartisan AI sandbox amendment from Senator Mike Rounds, co-sponsored with Senators Andy Kim and Mark Warner, was adopted 15-9. A portfolio margining amendment from Senator Dave McCormick, co-sponsored with Senator Bill Hagerty, was adopted 18-6. Senator Cynthia Lummis offered four additional amendments that were each adopted with bipartisan support, addressing bank and credit union participation in digital asset activities, the SEC's dual obligations to investor protection and orderly market function, insider trading rules applicable to ancillary assets, and an enforcement framework between the SEC and CFTC for digital commodities.

What Comes Next

Moving the bill out of committee is a meaningful milestone, but there’s more work to be done before its final passage. Because the Banking Committee's text will need to be aligned with related work from the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, the next phase of work will focus on producing a unified draft for floor action.

Once that text is finalized, Majority Leader John Thune will need to move to proceed, which will require 60 votes, and secure the floor time required for any major financial legislation. Assuming Senate passage, the bill will then need to be reconciled with the House-approved version before it can be sent to the President's desk. The details negotiated through this process will ultimately shape how the law operates in practice. The White House has consistently named digital asset market structure as one of its top legislative priorities, and the Administration has remained closely engaged with both chambers as the bill has taken shape.

DSA will continue to actively engage during every phase, working with members, committee staff, the Administration, and the broader builder community to help ensure that the final framework reflects the operational realities of decentralized and blockchain-based financial infrastructure, and delivers the clarity, consumer protections, and competitive footing the United States needs. The stakes extend well beyond digital assets alone, touching U.S. competitiveness, dollar dominance, capital formation, payment infrastructure modernization, and the country’s long-term leadership in financial technology.