Lawmakers in the United States Senate are moving closer to finalizing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, targeting a committee markup in the second half of April. Negotiations on the bill have recently accelerated, with Senator Cynthia Lummis indicating that the final text could be unveiled in the coming days, and supporters pushing for a Senate vote as soon as May.
Bill provisions revised after industry and banking sector debate
The Clarity Act has undergone significant changes during its drafting process, especially around the handling of stablecoin yield. In the past month, legislators resolved the sector’s most debated issue, agreeing on a compromise that would ban passive income from stablecoin balances. This move brought the bill closer to demands from banking lobbyists, who have consistently opposed offering passive yield features to crypto holders.
Instead of unrestricted yield, the compromise is expected to permit activity-based rewards focused on payments and platform usage. While these adjustments align with traditional finance’s push for tighter restrictions, they mark a departure from earlier drafts that had supported broader incentives for crypto users. For many in the crypto sector, yield-bearing stablecoins had been a core user benefit, but the concession was made to increase bipartisan backing.
Senator Cynthia Lummis has played a leading role in digital asset regulation efforts. She represents Wyoming and serves on key Senate committees focused on banking and finance, frequently engaging with both crypto advocates and traditional finance stakeholders during regulatory negotiations.
DeFi protections clarified while regulatory split remains central
Alongside changes to stablecoin rules, the updated text of the Clarity Act aims to reinforce protections for decentralized finance activities. Draft language was revised to ensure that developers and operators of non-custodial crypto protocols are not classified as financial intermediaries. Industry participants had voiced concerns that previous wording could have led to bank-level obligations for DeFi software builders.
Despite these adjustments, the core structure of the legislation has remained largely unchanged. The bill continues to divide digital asset oversight between two primary U.S. agencies: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Under the proposed framework, the CFTC would oversee digital commodities, while the SEC would be responsible for regulating assets that qualify as investment contracts.
Efforts to move the bill forward have become increasingly urgent. Senator Bernie Moreno, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has warned that delay beyond May could push digital asset legislation off the legislative calendar until after the 2026 midterm elections. This political pressure is speeding up bipartisan efforts to resolve outstanding issues.
While some in the crypto industry have expressed disappointment about the curbs on passive yield, others see strengthened protections for DeFi developers and platforms as an important safeguard. The compromises reflect a balancing act between industry priorities, political realities, and regulatory clarity.
As the markup approaches, industry participants are watching whether these final provisions can unlock long-awaited legal certainty for U.S. crypto markets, even as certain business models adjust to fit new compliance requirements.
