Original | Odaily (@OdailyChina）
Author | Golem (@web3_golem）
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act was passed by the U.S. House Agriculture Committee and Financial Services Committee with votes of 47-6 and 32-19 respectively, and is set to be submitted to the House for a full vote.
The full name of the CLARITY Act is the "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025", submitted by Republican Representative J. French Hill from Arkansas. It aims to establish a clear and unified regulatory framework for the U.S. digital asset (crypto asset) market, clarify the responsibilities of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the digital asset field, and protect investors and combat fraud while leaving room for innovation (DeFi, stablecoins, Non-Fungible Tokens, etc.).
The bill was previously hindered by House controversy due to "potential conflicts of interest from Trump's involvement in crypto activities", but on June 12, the latest amendment's provision to prohibit President Trump and his family from profiting from trading or promoting crypto assets was rejected. Thompson, the chairman of the House Financial Services and Agriculture Committees, stated, "This is not the place to discuss presidential ethics," allowing the review to continue.
Odaily will primarily outline the key contents of the CLARITY Act in this article (with assistance from ChatGPT) and analyze its subsequent impact on the crypto market.
Key Contents of the CLARITY Act
From the Mt. Gox exchange bankruptcy in 2013 to the FTX collapse in 2022, and the frequent legal disputes between SEC and crypto projects like Ripple, the ambiguity in defining "securities" and "commodities" has been highlighted. With both SEC and CFTC partially regulating digital assets and experiencing overlaps and conflicts in definitions, enforcement standards, and market access, the CLARITY Act aims to clearly delineate the responsibilities of these two regulatory bodies and avoid regulatory confusion.
The CLARITY Act is primarily divided into five parts, covering the entire process from definition to trading, regulation, and innovation support.
This chapter establishes the CFTC Laboratory (LabCFTC) within the committee, with the director appointed by the committee and subject to its control. Starting from 2025, LabCFTC must submit its activity report to the House Agriculture Committee and the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee by October 31st each year.
Potential Subsequent Impacts
Currently, the CLARITY Act has been submitted to the House for a full vote. Based on the votes passed by the House Agriculture Committee and the Financial Services Committee, the probability of the bill passing the full House vote is over 65%.
In terms of the key content of the bill, the passage of the CLARITY Act is beneficial to the entire crypto industry. First, by clarifying the jurisdictional division between the SEC and CFTC, it helps to change the previous chaotic crypto regulation and clearly defines the regulatory boundaries for crypto activities, providing legal basis for crypto practitioners when engaging in crypto business activities. Second, the bill also promotes the development of the crypto industry through policy measures, such as establishing a Financial Technology and Innovation Strategy Center and the CFTC Laboratory, which means a shift in regulation from "controlling" to "guiding", utilizing its advantages to actively guide the US crypto industry towards a more compliant direction.
However, critics argue that the bill may encourage venture capital or weaken securities law's management of crypto.
With supporters and critics holding different views, we await to see whether the CLARITY Act will ultimately pass and whether it can bring substantial benefits to the crypto industry.
