U.S. Crypto Bill Updated: Registration Requirement Proposed for Non-Decentralized Platforms
Senate Republicans have released the 630-page revised text of the Clarity Act ahead of the first procedural vote on September 15.
According to reports from The Block, Senator Cynthia Lummis and other Republicans have unveiled the new text of the Clarity Act, which aims to regulate the cryptocurrency industry at the federal level. The first procedural vote on the bill in the Senate is scheduled for September 15.
The most significant change in the revision involves new provisions for non-decentralized crypto trading protocols. The bill stipulates that these protocols must register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Additionally, the CFTC and the Treasury Department are tasked with drafting detailed rules for the relevant sector.
Clarity Act mandates CFTC registration for non-DeFi trading protocols
The text defines non-decentralized protocols as structures managed by individuals or groups that can directly or indirectly control or materially change their operation or rules.
The new section is reported to be among the clauses Democratic senators requested to be added to the bill. Lummis argued that the bill is a bipartisan effort, stating that more than 114 provisions were added to the text in line with the requests of her Democratic colleagues.
The revised text specifies that DeFi provisions will only apply to spot and cash digital commodity transactions. Lummis stated that this change aims to address concerns raised by tribal governments regarding how prediction markets would be affected by the bill. Some clarifications regarding the cryptocurrency activities of credit unions were also added to the text.
No major changes to ethics provisions
There are no significant changes in the ethics section of the bill. The current text prohibits public officials, government employees, and their spouses from issuing or endorsing digital assets. Primary authority for enforcing the provisions is granted to the Department of Justice, and the regulation is scheduled to sunset in January 2029.
According to Politico, the revised text does not currently have Democratic support. This could make it difficult for the bill to pass the Senate. The Clarity Act is facing a challenging path due to the stablecoin rewards debate between banks and the crypto sector, concerns over illicit finance, and unresolved issues regarding how to handle the hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto wealth linked to President Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial and the TRUMP memecoin.