CLARITY Act Seeks to Clarify Regulatory Roles, Leaves Operational Gaps Unresolved
The CLARITY Act aims to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets in the US, allocating responsibilities between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The bill would define agency jurisdiction over various transactions and require entities to register with either the CFTC or SEC. Specifically, Section 401 would grant the CFTC exclusive regulatory authority over digital commodity cash or spot transactions on registered exchanges.
The bill also addresses operational gaps in the back offices of capital markets firms. A survey by AutoRek found that 85% of respondents expect scalability strain as activity grows against legacy processes. However, the CLARITY Act does not provide a detailed operating model for resolving these issues, such as data integration and manual process challenges.
The bill does contain provisions relevant to operational infrastructure, including allowing recordkeeping from blockchain systems and requiring futures commission merchants to hold customer digital assets with qualified custodians.