Senate Vote on Crypto Regulation Bill Next Week Sparks Concerns
A long-stalled digital asset market bill, known as the Clarity Act, is set to be voted on by the U.S. Senate next week. The bill aims to clear up regulatory uncertainties and vulnerabilities in the digital asset sphere and provide stronger consumer protections.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 would precisely define cryptocurrencies and require cryptocurrency brokers and dealers to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, following the same Bank Secrecy Act rules as normal banks do.
A provision in the bill has raised alarm bells in anti-trafficking groups. Section 604 creates a safe harbor for developers and providers of digital asset technology or blockchains, exempting them from registering as money transmitters and certain anti-money laundering safeguards.
Katie Gosewisch, executive director of the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, said that the exemption is written too broadly and could extend beyond truly neutral software developers to platforms and services used by criminals.