U.S. CLARITY Act Charts Rules for Digital Assets and RWA Tokenization

FTX’s November 2022 collapse wiped out billions of dollars in customer value, but LedgerX, its federally regulated derivatives business, remained solvent under asset-segregation and capital requirements. The platform was sold in 2023 to M7 Holdings for $50 million. Its survival offers a sharp contrast with the broader group’s failure and supports the argument that clear, enforceable oversight can protect customers and preserve viable operations when a crypto parent company unravels.

The regulatory debate has grown more urgent as JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock accelerate efforts to tokenize conventional financial assets on blockchain networks. The US House of Representatives passed the CLARITY Act by 294-134 on July 17, 2025, seeking to define when digital assets fall under the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The article urges Congress to complete the legislation as tokenization becomes more deeply embedded in mainstream finance.

The US Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (H.R. 3633) seeks to divide regulatory authority between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Users of self-custody wallets control their own private keys. Treating software providers that do not control assets as financial intermediaries could restrict innovation in blockchain payments and leave less room for integration with compliance systems.

The House passed the bill on July 17, 2025. The Senate Banking Committee then voted 15–9 on May 14, 2026, to advance it to the full Senate. WalletConnect CEO Jess Houlgrave argued on June 4 that the bill should also establish a safe harbor for self-custody infrastructure and that regulation should target intermediaries that actually hold or control assets.

The CLARITY Act aims to define the SEC’s and CFTC’s jurisdiction over digital assets and establish rules for trading platforms. The House passed the bill on July 17, 2025, but the Senate has yet to complete the legislative process. Finalizing the rules will determine whether banks can offer custody, tokenized deposits and onchain settlement under consistent standards.

The Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill on May 14, 2026. Before that, the SEC and CFTC had announced five token classifications on March 17, while the OCC confirmed that banks may provide compliant custody and onchain payment services. BNY estimates the digital cash market will reach $3.6 trillion by 2030, while JPMorgan’s Kinexys processes more than $5 billion a day.

The U.S. Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY Act, aims to delineate the regulatory authority of the SEC and CFTC and establish rules for blockchain networks, tokens and trading platforms. The House passed the bill by a vote of 294–134 in July 2025, seeking to reduce regulatory uncertainty and the risk of the industry moving offshore.

The Senate Banking Committee advanced a related bipartisan version on May 14, 2026. It must next be reconciled with the Agriculture Committee’s version before going to the full Senate for a vote. Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z crypto subsequently said clear rules could foster domestic innovation and preserve the dollar’s position. At the time, the U.S. Dollar Index stood at 99.27, up 1.28% over the previous 30 days.