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The U.S. Senate Banking Committee voted 15-9 on May 14 to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, moving the crypto market structure bill closer to a full Senate vote.
All Republicans on the committee backed the measure. Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks also voted yes, though both said negotiations are still continuing and did not guarantee final floor support.
Draft Would Split SEC and CFTC Oversight
The CLARITY Act is designed to define when digital assets fall under securities law and when they should be treated as commodities.
The latest draft would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission a larger role over many crypto spot markets. It would preserve Securities and Exchange Commission authority over tokens tied to investment contracts.
The draft also brings digital commodity exchanges, brokers and dealers under Bank Secrecy Act obligations. That includes anti-money-laundering controls, customer identification, due diligence and suspicious activity reporting.
Democrats Seek Stronger AML and Ethics Safeguards
The committee vote does not settle the policy fight. Democrats continued pressing for tougher anti-money-laundering standards, stronger consumer and investor protections, and ethics language covering senior officials and their families. Sen. Chris Van Hollen separately proposed amendments aimed at anti-corruption safeguards and limits tied to crypto interests linked to President Donald Trump and his family.
Stablecoin rewards also remain a point of tension. The current compromise bars rewards that resemble interest on idle stablecoin balances while still allowing activity-based rewards tied to product use, such as payments. Banking groups argue the language is still too loose. Crypto firms say broader restrictions would hurt competition and block ordinary user incentives.
Senate Floor Fight Follows 15-9 Committee Vote
The bill now faces a harder path in the full Senate. Republicans do not have a filibuster-proof majority, so the legislation will need broader bipartisan support to advance. Gallego and Alsobrooks helped move the bill out of committee, but their floor support may depend on further changes to ethics, AML and consumer-protection language.
For crypto firms, the vote is a major procedural milestone. The CLARITY Act remains the sector’s main route to a broad U.S. market structure law covering exchanges, brokers, token issuers and digital commodity markets. The next test is whether Senate negotiators can resolve the remaining disputes before the bill reaches the floor.
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Fhumulani Lukoto
Cryptocurrency Journalist
Fhumulani Lukoto holds a Bachelors Degree in Journalism enabling her to become the writer she is today. Her passion for cryptocurrency and bitcoin started in 2021 when she began producing content in the space. A naturally inquisitive person, she dove head first into all things crypto to gain the huge wealth of knowledge she has today. Based out of Gauteng, South Africa, Fhumulani is a core member of the content team at Coin Insider.