The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has released the latest text of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, putting one of Washington’s most closely watched crypto market-structure bills back on the legislative calendar.
The 309-page draft, released ahead of a May 14 executive session, would form the basis for the committee’s markup of H.R. 3633, formally titled the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025. The hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, according to the committee notice.
The bill seeks to establish a federal framework for digital assets by clarifying the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Its stated purpose is to regulate the offer and sale of digital commodities through the SEC and CFTC, while also addressing Federal Reserve activity and the use of central bank digital currency for monetary policy.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, Senator Cynthia Lummis and Senator Thom Tillis said the new text reflects months of negotiation and input from lawmakers, regulators, law-enforcement agencies, financial institutions, innovators and consumer advocates. Scott said the bill is intended to deliver “clear rules of the road,” while Lummis framed the markup as another step toward making the U.S. a global leader in digital assets.
For the crypto industry, the central question remains whether Congress can finally define where securities law ends and commodities oversight begins. The committee’s own summary says the bill would draw a “bright line” between SEC and CFTC jurisdiction and replace what Republicans have described as regulation by enforcement with a statutory framework.
The draft creates a disclosure regime for certain transactions involving “ancillary assets,” a category meant to capture network tokens whose value may depend on the efforts of an originator or related party. Required disclosures could include information about management, financial statements, risk factors, token ownership, related-party transactions, supply mechanics, governance, code audits and the technical state of the network.
The bill also outlines how decentralization would be assessed. Among the factors: whether a system is open source, whether any person or group can restrict or censor use, whether insiders control more than 49% of the asset or governance power, and whether the system has become autonomous.
Another major section focuses on illicit finance. The draft would extend Bank Secrecy Act obligations to digital commodity brokers, dealers and exchanges that allow direct customer access. Those entities would need anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing programs, including risk assessments, internal controls, compliance officers, training and independent audits. The proposal also states that such firms must comply with U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Stablecoins remain a sensitive part of the debate. The bill includes language on payment stablecoin compensation, disclosures and the impact of stablecoins on bank deposits, Treasury markets, payment costs and the global role of the dollar. It would require reporting on whether rewards, incentives or similar programs affect deposit outflows, community banks, credit unions and access to credit.
The draft also includes provisions aimed at decentralized finance and software developers. A table of contents lists sections covering DeFi trading protocols, distributed ledger messaging systems, digital asset mixers, cybersecurity standards, foreign adversary activity and financial stability risks. Another title is devoted to protecting software developers and software innovation, including a safe harbor for nonfungible tokens and a Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.
A separate section would establish a joint CFTC-SEC “Micro-Innovation Sandbox,” requiring the agencies to create a framework for eligible firms to test innovative activities in the U.S. within 360 days of enactment.
Still, the bill faces political hurdles. Reuters reported that the Senate Banking Committee is expected to consider the legislation this week, but that the measure will need bipartisan support to advance. The report noted that the bill has drawn pressure from both the crypto industry and banking groups, particularly around stablecoin rewards and the risk of deposit migration from traditional banks.
The committee’s release follows earlier rounds of discussion drafts and requests for industry feedback. Scott’s office said Republicans first released market-structure principles in June 2025, followed by a discussion draft and request for information in July, a second draft in September and months of negotiations before the current manager’s amendment.
For digital asset firms, the draft represents the most detailed Senate attempt yet to convert years of regulatory disputes into a federal rulebook. For banks and consumer-protection advocates, the question is whether the latest version sufficiently addresses financial stability, illicit finance and investor-risk concerns.
The markup will determine whether the Senate is ready to move from negotiation to legislation — and whether the U.S. crypto industry is any closer to the legal clarity it has spent years demanding.