CLARITY Act Advances Amid Senate Debate

Senator Cynthia Lummis has backed the CLARITY Act as a way to extend Wyoming's digital-asset model across the United States.

The bill aims to create federal categories for digital assets, dividing oversight between the SEC and CFTC. It would also provide protection from financial intermediary rules for non-custodial developers who publish or maintain software without controlling customer funds.

Lummis argues that Wyoming's experience with regulating digital assets has shown that lawmakers can do so while allowing companies to operate in the US. The state has enacted over two dozen blockchain and digital-asset laws since 2018, including special-purpose depository institutions (SPDIs) designed to hold digital assets under state supervision.

The CLARITY Act would impose disclosure and operating requirements on registered market participants and assign rulemaking duties to the SEC and CFTC. It also includes provisions for customer property in a failed crypto company, treating digital assets held for customers as customer property in bankruptcy rather than part of the company's estate.