Senate panel advances Clarity Act to full Senate

The Senate Banking Committee voted 15-9 on May 14, 2026, to advance the revised Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, sending the crypto market-structure bill to the full Senate for consideration. The measure seeks to clarify which tokens fall under securities or commodities oversight and to set a federal framework for trading, stablecoins and other digital-asset activity.

Committee approval moves the bill toward a likely floor debate in June. If the measure reaches the floor, senators may need 60 votes to overcome procedural hurdles. The bill would also need to be reconciled with the House version and receive the president’s signature before becoming law.

The updated draft expands the January proposal. It clarifies whether particular tokens are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, attempts to define regulated market activity, and sets rules for how some digital-asset transactions are treated under existing financial statutes.

A key provision is the Tillis-Alsobrooks compromise on stablecoin rewards. The text restricts passive, deposit-like yield on payment stablecoins while allowing certain transaction-based rewards under tighter oversight. The bill adds insider trading rules for digital assets and includes an insolvency safe harbor that would let counterparties close out positions in digital commodities and access collateral during bankruptcy proceedings, aligning those treatments more closely with protections for derivatives markets.

The draft sets a general 360-day effective date after enactment. Some sections would take effect later if federal agencies require additional time to complete rulemaking.

Markets reacted to the committee vote with gains for major tokens. Bitcoin and Ether rose, and several tokens sensitive to regulatory clarity posted larger increases. Exchange and infrastructure-linked tokens moved higher; Hyperliquid traded about 11% higher and XDC and Canton gained near 10% in the sessions after the vote.

Sen. Thom Tillis described the measure as “a strong bipartisan compromise to provide the regulatory certainty needed to advance financial innovation,” and said he was proud to have worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle while noting that more work remains.

Lawmakers remain divided on the treatment of decentralized finance, the scope of anti-money-laundering controls and the limits on stablecoin yields. Floor debate or conference with the House could change key provisions before any final passage.