The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has advanced the Digital Asset Market Clarification Act, a bill regarded as a significant step toward U.S. regulatory legislation for cryptocurrencies. The committee approved the text on May 14 by a bipartisan vote of 15 to 9, though some disagreements remain unresolved before it proceeds to full Senate consideration.
Amend the bill temporarily before the committee vote
Before the vote, lawmakers engaged in hours of closed-door negotiations and continued discussing contentious provisions after the hearing began. The final version adjusted regulatory oversight arrangements, banking-related rules, tokenization clauses, insider trading language, and consumer protection provisions.
Reports show that some Democratic lawmakers shifted their support to the revised text at the final stage, helping the bill pass the committee. Supporters included Angela Alsobrooks and Ruben Gallego, whose endorsements expanded the bipartisan support for the bill within the committee.
Developer terms remain a point of contention.
During negotiations, a major point of contention centered on defining the responsibilities of non-custodial software developers. Republicans opposed linking certain Democratic amendments to the regulatory framework for money transmission services, leaving the relevant provisions unresolved prior to the hearing.
In addition, lawmakers discussed ethical constraints on government officials holding cryptocurrency assets. Democrats seek to include stricter ethical requirements covering elected officials and their holdings of cryptocurrency assets. This section has not yet been fully finalized.
The next step will be a full Senate vote.
After approval by the committee, the bill will next be merged with the corresponding text from the Senate Agriculture Committee and then submitted to the full Senate for consideration. This means that the version currently approved is not yet final and will continue to be revised regarding the allocation of regulatory responsibilities and ethical provisions.
After the vote, Gallego stated that his support during the committee stage does not mean the bill will automatically receive backing when it reaches the full Senate. This reflects that while the bill has made progress, key issues are still under negotiation.
- The committee vote resulted in 15 to 9.
- Banking regulations and tokenization terms have been revised.
- Developer responsibilities and ethical requirements still need to be aligned.