Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act) would establish a comprehensive federal framework for regulating digital assets, creating a coordinated regulatory approach between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The bill defines a broad set of terms related to digital assets—such as blockchain, digital commodities, digital commodity issuers, and end user distributions—and uses those definitions to determine which activities fall under securities laws, commodities laws, or both. It would create new registration and rulemaking processes for digital asset intermediaries (exchanges, brokers, dealers) and for digital commodity intermediaries under the CFTC, while also enabling certain exemptions and savings provisions under the securities laws. The legislation also includes an anti-CBDC package, prohibiting Federal Reserve banks from offering certain products or services to individuals and from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) directly or indirectly, and it foregrounds a suite of studies and innovation tools (e.g., LabCFTC, strategic tech hubs) to assess and guide technology developments in this space. In short, the Act aims to bring clarity and federal oversight to digital asset markets, define which activities are regulated as securities versus commodities, streamline registration for market participants, and limit federal CBDC initiatives. The overall intent is to reduce regulatory uncertainty, protect investors, and encourage responsible innovation—while simultaneously asserting limits on certain central bank digital currency efforts.
Key Points
- 1Dual-regulator framework for digital assets: SEC handles offers and sales; CFTC handles intermediaries (exchanges, brokers, dealers) and related market activities; includes rulemaking to align treatment across securities and commodities laws.
- 2Broad, cross-cutting definitions: Establishes terms such as blockchain, digital asset, digital commodity, digital commodity issuer, digital commodity related person, end user distribution, mature blockchain system, and permitted payment stablecoins to guide regulatory coverage.
- 3Registration and market structure: Expedited registration paths for digital commodity exchanges, brokers, and dealers; added CFTC authorities for digital commodity intermediaries; enhanced recordkeeping; provisions for “dual-registered” entities and education material requirements; and exclusions for certain decentralized finance activities.
- 4Exemptions and preemption: Creates exemptions for certain primary and secondary digital commodity transactions; provides savings provisions under existing securities laws; explicitly excludes some state securities provisions for digital commodities, aiming to reduce state-by-state regulatory fragmentation.
- 5Innovation, standards, and studies: Establishes the Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology; codifies LabCFTC; commissions studies on DeFi, non-fungible tokens, financial literacy, market infrastructure, and illicit use of digital assets; supports capacity-building and modernization efforts.
- 6Anti-CBDC provisions (Title VI): Prohibits Federal Reserve Banks from offering products/services to individuals outside certain limits, and from directly or indirectly issuing a central bank digital currency or using CBDC as monetary policy; signals a “no CBDC” posture in this framework.
- 7Operational scope and limitations: Addresses custody by banking institutions; sets rules for permitted payment stablecoins; includes definitions related to custody, disclosures, and the treatment of custody-related activities in financial markets.