Lummis publishes revised CLARITY Act ahead of Sept. 15 cloture vote
Regulation & Gov ·
Senator Cynthia Lummis released an updated version of the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act on September 10, 2026, incorporating more than 100 changes sought by Democrats during August negotiations.
The revised draft addresses when a DeFi protocol counts as genuinely decentralized versus "decentralized-in-name-only," a distinction that determines whether the platform must register with the CFTC. Lummis said the language was shaped by bipartisan work through August and is meant to close gaps that critics argued let centralized operators avoid oversight by branding themselves as decentralized.
The updated text also narrows the bill's DeFi provisions so they apply only to spot and cash transactions, a change made in response to concerns raised by Native American stakeholders about prediction markets, according to Lummis. That scope limitation is echoed in reporting from wublockchain.xyz, which described the revision as tying DeFi rules specifically to spot crypto trades rather than broader derivative or prediction-market activity.
Coverage of the same draft, including a post from x.com, notes that the update also folds in credit union provisions and is positioned ahead of a Senate floor vote expected the week of September 15. The bill is intended to draw a clearer line between SEC and CFTC jurisdiction over digital-commodity markets, a division that has been a central sticking point in prior versions of the legislation.
Ten distinct sources have reported on the release, consistently describing it as a bipartisan product shaped by more than 100 Democratic-requested edits, though the specific list of those 100-plus changes has not been itemized publicly beyond the DeFi registration and spot-transaction provisions. What remains unresolved is whether the revised text can secure the votes needed to clear the September 15 cloture threshold, and whether the narrowed DeFi scope satisfies the Native American stakeholders whose prediction-market concerns prompted the change. The bill's path through further Senate floor procedure, and any additional amendments before a final vote, are still to be determined.