CLARITY Act Update: Senate Draft vs. House Version 🚨
Major changes from Senate Banking Committee:
**Stablecoins**
❌ Passive yield/interest prohibited (win for banks)
✅ Activity-based rewards allowed (staking, liquidity, payments, governance)
**DeFi Protections**
• Innovation sandboxes added (up to $20M, 2-year testing)
• Clear decentralization pathways to transition from SEC → CFTC oversight
**Self-Custody & Developers**
• Explicit protections for wallet providers, validators, node operators
• Open-source developers exempt from broker/money transmitter rules
**Consumer Protection**
• Stronger bankruptcy provisions—customer assets segregated and returned in insolvency
• Banks can offer custody/staking under defined framework
**Other Key Additions**
• $150M CFTC funding authorization
• Anti-CBDC language restricting retail CBDC issuance
• ETP-backed tokens (as of Jan 1, 2026) get exemption
Markup happens Thursday with a 48-hour amendment window.
The Senate draft balances crypto innovation with traditional banking concerns—moving from enforcement-based ambiguity to statutory clarity. 📜
