Senate Republicans update CLARITY Act ahead of key vote
Regulation & Gov ·
A revised draft of the crypto market-structure bill now requires certain DeFi platforms to register with the CFTC, with a vote expected next week.
Senate Republicans have circulated a fresh version of the CLARITY Act that incorporates changes worked out during the August recess, according to reporting picked up by wublockchain.xyz. The update leaves the bill's ethics, BRCA, and stablecoin-yield sections intact while altering how the legislation treats decentralized finance.
The most notable shift is a new obligation for DeFi protocols that are not sufficiently decentralized to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a change meant to mirror Section 10301 of the Senate Banking Committee's own draft. The bill also narrows its DeFi provisions so they apply only to spot or cash trades in digital commodities, a move reportedly intended to address concerns raised by tribal groups over blockchain-based prediction markets. A separate revision spells out more clearly what crypto activities credit unions are permitted to conduct.
The 630-page draft is said to reflect more than 100 amendments proposed by Democrats and includes carve-outs tied to Native American prediction markets, details noted in coverage of the bill's circulation ahead of the scheduled Senate action. Multiple outlets describe the update as arriving just before a pivotal vote, with theblock.co reporting the vote is set for next week and other accounts pointing to September 15 as the target date. decrypt.co separately confirmed that Senate Republicans put out the revised text ahead of that timeline.
Six distinct sources are now tracking the story, underscoring how closely the market-structure debate is being watched as the bill nears a floor vote. What remains unclear is whether the CFTC registration threshold for "non-decentralized" protocols will survive further negotiation, how the spot-only limitation will be interpreted for existing DeFi products, and whether the tribal prediction-market carve-outs will satisfy the concerns that prompted them. The outcome of the vote, whether held next week or specifically on September 15, will determine whether this draft becomes the operative text or faces another round of amendments.