Washington: US Senate Republicans have released the final text of a sweeping cryptocurrency market bill, adding tougher ethics and consumer-protection provisions ahead of a crucial procedural vote on Tuesday.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is intended to establish federal rules for cryptocurrency markets and divide regulatory responsibilities among US agencies.
Senators Cynthia Lummis, John Boozman and Tim Scott released the revised draft on Sunday after more than a year of negotiations.
The lawmakers said the text includes 126 substantive changes requested by Democrats. The revisions are aimed at attracting enough opposition-party support to overcome the Senate’s 60-vote procedural threshold.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune had said last week that supporters appeared short of the votes needed to advance the measure, CQ Roll Call reported. His assessment came before the latest changes were unveiled.
The final draft adds ethics provisions covering federally elected officials, judges and their spouses. It also gives state attorneys general a role in enforcement.
The bill would grant the Treasury secretary new authority to prevent deposit flight linked to payment stablecoins. Supporters described the provision as a circuit breaker intended to protect community banks.
Among other things, it proposes safeguards governing affiliate trading and conflicts of interest. Other provisions clarify the application of state consumer-protection laws and seek to shield software developers from certain money-transmission registration requirements.
“After a year of intense daily bipartisan negotiations, this bill is ready,” Lummis said.
“This text is truly bipartisan and includes more than 120 of Democrats’ demands,” she said. “A no vote on Tuesday means opposing real ethics reforms on politicians’ personal investments, handing American leadership in digital assets to our foreign competitors, and leaving Americans with zero protections in the digital asset markets.”
“We have an opportunity to establish clear rules of the road that will protect consumers, strengthen our markets, and ensure we remain a global leader in digital asset innovation,” Boozman said.
“We cannot afford to wait any longer,” Boozman added.
Scott said the bill would protect consumers while keeping cryptocurrency innovation and employment in the United States.
“The Clarity Act will protect Americans’ hard-earned money, keep innovation and jobs in America, and strengthen our national security,” he said.
If the Senate invokes cloture on the motion to proceed on Tuesday afternoon, the revised text would be offered as a substitute amendment. Failure to secure 60 votes could stall the legislation before the November 3 midterm elections.
Lummis and Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand first introduced bipartisan legislation seeking a comprehensive digital-asset regulatory framework in 2022. They reintroduced it the following year.
The Clarity Act advanced from the Senate Banking Committee in May 2026 by a bipartisan 15-9 vote. Its progress is being watched beyond the United States because American rules could influence cryptocurrency companies, investors and regulators in major markets, including India.
(IANS)
