CLARITY Act: House Advances Latest Version of U.S. Crypto Market Rules

Rep. Tom Emmer says the CLARITY Act has been years in the making. The House Majority Whip and co-chair of the Congressional Crypto Caucus described the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 as the roughly "fifth or sixth iteration" of Congress's effort to establish a federal framework for regulating digital assets. The legislation, H.R. 3633, was introduced on May 29, 2025, by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. French Hill. Its central aim is to clarify which federal regulator oversees which parts of the digital asset market, where the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have asserted overlapping and sometimes conflicting jurisdiction. A key feature is a "mature blockchain" test, a classification standard intended to determine when a digital asset should be treated as a commodity rather than a security. If a network meets specified decentralization thresholds, its native token could be viewed as a digital commodity instead of an investment contract subject to SEC oversight. The bill also outlines circumstances under which certain decentralized networks may be treated as non-securities, and states that noncustodial digital asset providers would not be classified as money transmitters. Emmer has argued that law enforcement objections to this provision are overstated, saying the approach addresses illicit finance risks without stifling innovation. The House passed the CLARITY Act on July 17, 2025, by a bipartisan vote of 294–134. The Senate Banking Committee advanced an updated version on May 14, 2026, by a 15–9 vote. Emmer's role extends beyond H.R. 3633. He has previously introduced and reintroduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, elements of which were later incorporated into the CLARITY Act. His description of the current proposal as a fifth or sixth version underscores both the complexity of the issue and the persistence of its backers. For investors, the "mature blockchain" test could be particularly significant for major layer-1 networks and their ecosystems. Demonstrating sufficient decentralization could allow a token to avoid more onerous securities regulation, influencing exchange listings, retail marketing practices, and how projects structure governance. For decentralized finance, the noncustodial provider provision could be especially impactful. Clarifying that writing or deploying noncustodial software does not make an entity a money transmitter could ease a major deterrent for U.S. developers. The bill still must clear the full Senate, and any reconciliation between House and Senate versions could reshape the final text. The contrast between the House's 294–134 margin and the Senate committee's 15–9 vote suggests the measure may face a more difficult path in the upper chamber, and the enacted version could differ from what the House approved.