CLARITY Act Would Codify Crypto AML Rules, Ease Bank Risk
U.S. banks have struggled to assess crypto counterparties because digital-asset firms operate under a fragmented regulatory regime. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would divide oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission while treating digital commodity exchanges, brokers and dealers as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act. Supporters say codified anti-money-laundering duties would narrow the compliance gap between crypto companies and traditional finance.
The House passed H.R. 3633 on July 17, 2025. The Senate Banking Committee advanced an amended version by a 15-9 vote on May 14, 2026, and the measure was placed on the Senate calendar on June 1. If enacted, the legislation would give banks a statutory basis for evaluating digital-asset clients and counterparties, potentially reducing reliance on institution-by-institution risk judgments and lowering uncertainty over whether crypto firms meet federal AML requirements.
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The history behind this eventDemocrats Add Consumer Safeguards to U.S. Crypto CLARITY Bill
FTX’s Nov. 11, 2022 bankruptcy exposed gaps in U.S. oversight of digital assets, leaving customers uncertain about custody, asset segregation and their treatment in insolvency. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or H.R. 3633, seeks to close those gaps by placing exchanges, brokers, dealers and custodians under clear federal rules covering registration, capital, disclosures, conflicts of interest, fraud prevention and customer-property protections, while defining the respective roles of the SEC and CFTC.
The House passed the bill 294-134 on July 17, 2025, and the Senate Banking Committee advanced its version 15-9 on May 14, 2026, with support from two Democrats. Coinbase Vice Chair Ryan VanGrack said on July 20 that Democratic negotiators had added stronger customer safeguards to give the legislation “more teeth.” As of that date, senators had neither released the final text nor scheduled a floor vote, while ethics limits involving government officials’ crypto interests remained unresolved after President Donald Trump disclosed $1.4 billion in related earnings in June.
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