Overview
- The CLARITY Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee on May 14 and was placed on the Senate legislative calendar this week, moving the bill one formal step closer to a full‑Senate vote.
- Senators and negotiators continue to haggle over whether passive, interest‑like stablecoin yields will be banned while narrowly defined activity‑based rewards remain allowed, a fight that has drawn public pushback from major banks.
- Law‑enforcement and national‑security tools are a selling point for supporters, who rolled out a Blockchain Association letter signed by 160 former officials and heard public defenses from White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt.
- Contentious bad‑actor disqualification rules and protections for non‑custodial DeFi developers remain unresolved, with critics warning the current text could either bar firms with past enforcement settlements or leave gaps in AML and sanctions enforcement.
- Sponsors now face the practical hurdle of reconciling Banking and Agriculture Committee texts, winning about 60 votes on the floor, and getting House agreement and the President’s signature before the midterm calendar makes passage much harder.