Author: Blockchain Knight

On January 13, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee released the full text of the "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act" (CLARITY), which is expected to be reviewed this week.

This 278-page draft abandons the one-by-one token classification model and constructs a "channel system" based on the functional lifecycle of digital assets to allocate jurisdiction, with the core aim of clarifying the regulatory boundaries between the SEC and CFTC.

The market is optimistic about this, with Polymarket users estimating an 80% probability that the bill will be signed into law this year, but senators have only a 48-hour window to propose amendments, making time tight.

The core of the bill is to build a regulatory bridge between the SEC and CFTC: "ancillary assets," which depend on the efforts of the initiators, will fall under SEC regulation, requiring issuers to disclose audited financial statements, ownership, token economics, and other detailed information, aligning with the standards of publicly listed companies; once the control of tokens is decentralized, they will be classified as "digital commodities" and regulated by the CFTC for trading venues and intermediaries.

Key provisions directly address industry pain points:

First, a fast track for ETFs, where tokens that serve as the main assets of listed ETPs after January 1, 2026, will not be classified as ancillary assets, effectively opening a commodity market channel for mainstream cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH;

Second, the clarification of Ethereum staking, defining staking rewards as "non-compensatory distributions," providing a safe channel for self-staking, self-custody staking, and liquid staking, while staking through custodial exchanges remains under strict regulation;

Third, the delineation of stablecoin yield, prohibiting issuers from paying yields based on holding stablecoins, but allowing earnings through DeFi lending and other means, maintaining the economic viability of DeFi yields;

Fourth, a DeFi safe harbor, where interfaces that are non-custodial, do not control private keys, and do not interfere with transactions are considered pure software, exempting them from broker registration, while centralized entities are subject to strict regulation.

Bitwise believes this could drive the market to new heights, but legal experts are racing against the clock to identify flaws before the amendment deadline.

Criticism focuses on privacy and decentralization, arguing that the general registration requirements stifle anonymous participation, and the government custodian requirements effectively ban self-custody; the wording on stablecoin yields and the newly added DeFi chapter have also sparked controversy.

Although the bill has passed the House of Representatives, Senate negotiations are still focused on disagreements over banking priorities, and some industry insiders hold a pessimistic view on the prospects for passage.

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