Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, BLOCKCHAIN—Senators release CLARITY Act details, note ‘bipartisan compromise’, (May 12, 2026)
Organizations Mentioned:American Bankers Association
By Nora Macaluso
The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to discuss the cryptocurrency bill on May 14.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.), along with committee members Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), have released the text of a bill aimed at establishing rules for digital assets, known as the CLARITY Act.
“The text reflects continued negotiations with Democratic colleagues and extensive input from lawmakers, regulators, law enforcement, financial institutions, innovators, and consumer advocates,” the lawmakers said.
Scott said the legislation, which the panel will discuss on May 14, “delivers the certainty, safeguards, and accountability Americans deserve.” The legislation “puts consumers first, combats illicit finance, cracks down on criminals and foreign adversaries, and keeps the future of finance here in the United States,” he said.
The 309-page bill includes definitions, disclosure requirements, and requirements for agency studies and reports.
It would amend the Bank Company Holding Act, National Bank Act, and other banking laws to allow banks to use digital assets and blockchain technology “for any activity they’re already allowed to do,” according to a section-by-section breakdown issued by the committee.
The legislation would prohibit digital asset service providers and their affiliates from paying “passive, deposit-like interest or yield on payment stablecoin balances, while allowing bona fide activity or transaction-based rewards under joint rules” to be issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Treasury, according to the document.
The SEC would have 270 days to issue rules for broker-dealers to provide investors with information about how digital assets and stablecoins would be treated in the event of insolvency, resolution, or liquidation.
The legislation includes provisions on securities regulations for digital asset activities, requiring the SEC to “update” its rules to account for these activities; money laundering, with a requirement that digital commodity brokers, dealers, and exchanges be treated as financial institutions for Bank Secrecy Act purposes; and risk management.
Senator Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) said the American Bankers Association attempted to kill the bill by sending a letter to bank leaders to urge lawmakers to block it. “The banking cartel is in full panic mode,” the senator said in a post on X.
Moreno cited a line in the ABA’s letter saying the association believes “committee members may not be fully aware of the risks to the economy by the stablecoin loophole.”
“That’s both intellectually dishonest and simultaneously demeaning,” Moreno said. “First, there is no ‘loophole.’ This entire issue was litigated during the GENIUS Act debate.” Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) “worked tirelessly on this issue and this statement is an insult to his and others work,” the post continued.
“As a member of [the Senate Banking] committee, my message is clear: Hands off the people’s money,” Moreno said. “No more shielding Wall Street from the future. The banking elite’s days of rigging the system and debanking their political enemies are over.”
Companies: American Bankers Association
LegislativeActivity: Blockchain FinancialIntermediaries