WASHINGTON — The Senate Banking Committee on Thursday approved the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the cryptocurrency market structure bill that would establish a regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States.
The committee approved the measure on a 15-9 vote, with all Republicans on the panel joined by Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland.
The legislation, commonly known as the CLARITY Act, seeks to define when digital assets are treated as securities or commodities and would shift much of the oversight of crypto trading markets to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a long-standing goal of the cryptocurrency industry.
‘Clear Rules of the Road’
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott said earlier this week the bill is intended to provide “clear rules of the road” for digital assets while protecting consumers and combating illicit finance.
As the CU Daily has been reporting, the committee vote followed months of negotiations between lawmakers, banks, crypto firms and consumer advocates. Banking trade groups said they support creating a digital asset framework but continue to seek tighter restrictions on stablecoin rewards programs, arguing they could draw deposits away from traditional financial institutions.
Several Democrats raised concerns during the markup over anti-money laundering provisions and potential conflicts of interest involving public officials with crypto holdings. Some lawmakers who supported advancing the bill said negotiations are expected to continue before a full Senate vote.
House Passes SMART Act
Separately, The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would reduce examination requirements and tailor supervisory standards for smaller financial institutions that are considered well managed and well capitalized.
The legislation, known as the Supervisory Modifications for Appropriate Risk-Based Testing Act of 2025, or SMART Act, passed the House Tuesday on a voice vote and now moves to the Senate for consideration. The credit union trade groups have supported the legislation and pushed for CU-related provisions.
According to the House Financial Services Committee, the bill would modify supervisory requirements for smaller financial institutions by allowing qualifying institutions with $6 billion or less in assets to alternate between full-scope and limited-scope examinations.
What Bill Would Also Do
The legislation also would allow institutions to request that certain examinations be combined into a single examination cycle, a move supporters said would reduce administrative burden for community-based financial institutions.
Rep. William Timmons (R-SC), who sponsored the bill, said the measure is intended to ease regulatory requirements for community banks and credit unions while maintaining oversight.
“[Community banks and credit unions] should be focused on serving families, supporting small businesses and expanding opportunity in their communities, not navigating unnecessary red tape from Washington,” Timmons said in a statement. “The SMART Act takes a commonsense, risk-based approach to supervision that reduces regulatory burden while maintaining strong oversight and accountability.”
What Supporters are Saying
Supporters of the measure said smaller financial institutions often face disproportionate compliance burdens despite posing lower systemic risk than larger institutions.
The bill is part of a broader effort by some lawmakers and industry groups to reduce regulatory requirements for community banks and credit unions, which have argued that examination and compliance costs have increased significantly in recent years.
The Senate has not yet scheduled a vote on the legislation.
