US Senate Shelves Digital Asset Market Clarity Act Amid Ongoing Debates

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (H.R. 3633) has been put on hold in the US Senate, pending further review and debate. The bill aims to divide regulatory power between the SEC and CFTC for digital assets, but its passage remains uncertain due to opposition from a group of Democratic senators over ethics terms.

Despite this setback, an updated version of the bill has been released, merging the texts of the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees. The new draft assigns spot market authority over 'digital commodities' to the CFTC and investment contract assets to the SEC.

Lawmakers remain divided on key aspects of the bill, including ethics enforcement authority, anti-money laundering scope for decentralized finance (DeFi), and federal powers over privacy tools. Critics argue that the proposed bans leave passive crypto investments untouched and that the fines for violators are insufficient.