Senate Banking Committee releases 309-page CLARITY Act draft

The Senate Banking Committee circulated a 309-page draft of the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act on May 12, expanding the January 278-page text and incorporating a bipartisan Tillis‑Alsobrooks compromise on stablecoin yields ahead of a scheduled Thursday markup.

The draft keeps the bill’s nine-title structure and grows by 31 pages to add new provisions and tighter limits on stablecoin rewards. Section 404 would permit regulated stablecoin issuers to offer some types of yield or rewards while imposing caps and oversight intended to prevent stablecoins from operating like uninsured bank deposits or unregistered securities.

The text adds other legal tools. Section 109 would apply insider trading laws to digital asset markets. Section 702 would create an insolvency safe harbor allowing counterparties to close out digital commodity positions and access collateral outside standard bankruptcy proceedings, reflecting protections used in conventional derivatives markets.

Section 906 sets the general effective date at 360 days after enactment. Provisions that depend on agency rulemaking would take effect either 360 days after enactment or 60 days after publication of a final rule, whichever is later.

The draft also inserts the Build Now Act in Section 904 and revises Title I, including Sections 102, 104 and 108. It contains a permanent-treatment provision that would designate any token that was the principal asset of a spot exchange-traded product as of Jan. 1, 2026, as a non-security going forward.

Committee members must file amendments by close of business tomorrow before a 10:30 a.m. ET executive session; the markup is set for Thursday. Ethics language remains under discussion, with Senator Elizabeth Warren stressing protections to prevent senior officials from financially benefiting from cryptocurrency holdings.

Industry commentators noted elements of the draft on social media. Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital, pointed to the Build Now Act’s inclusion. A market analyst posted that the draft’s treatment of spot ETP assets would lock in non-security status for tokens listed as principal assets on Jan. 1, 2026.