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The US Senate Banking Committee has advanced a long-awaited crypto market structure bill, giving the digital asset industry one of its biggest regulatory wins in Washington so far.
The Republican-led committee voted to send the Clarity Act to the full Senate on Thursday, with all Republicans backing the bill and two Democrats joining them. Reuters reported that Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego and Maryland Senator Angela Alsobrooks supported the committee vote, though both warned they may not necessarily back the final version on the Senate floor.
That matters because the bill still needs wider bipartisan support to survive the next stage. It is not law yet, but the committee vote is a clear sign that crypto regulation is moving from political talking point to legislative reality.
The Clarity Act is designed to settle one of the biggest questions hanging over the US crypto market: who regulates what?
For years, crypto companies have argued that unclear rules have left them stuck between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The bill would create clearer lines between securities and commodities, giving the industry a more defined rulebook for issuing, trading and building around digital assets. Reuters reported that the bill would help define when crypto tokens are securities, commodities or another type of asset.
For the crypto industry, that clarity could be a major unlock. It may give exchanges, token issuers and investors more confidence that activity which has been operating in legal grey areas can move into a more structured framework.
The market reaction showed how important this is. Coinbase shares jumped after the vote, with MarketWatch reporting the stock was up around 7.7% on the day. Barron’s also reported that the bill passed committee by 15 to 9 and that most crypto trading would fall under CFTC oversight, a long-running goal for parts of the industry.
But this is not a clean victory yet.
The bill is still caught between crypto firms, banks and Democrats worried about consumer protection, anti-money laundering rules and political conflicts of interest. Reuters said several Democrats argued the bill’s AML provisions were too weak and that it should stop political officials from profiting from crypto ventures.
Banks are also fighting parts of the package, especially around stablecoin rewards. Traditional banking groups have warned that allowing crypto firms to offer rewards linked to stablecoins could pull deposits away from banks. The American Bankers Association and other banking trade groups issued a statement after the vote saying the bill still needed stronger protections.
That fight explains why the bill has taken so long to move. Crypto firms want room to build products that feel more like modern financial apps. Banks want to stop stablecoins from becoming deposit-like competitors without the same regulatory burden.
The political backdrop also matters. Reuters reported that the crypto industry spent more than $119 million supporting pro-crypto candidates in 2024, showing how seriously the sector has treated this legislative push.
The House already passed its own version of the Clarity Act last year, but the Senate version still needs to clear the full chamber and then be reconciled before it can reach the president’s desk. Analysts cited by Reuters warned that if the bill does not pass this year, the midterm elections could make the path much harder.
For now, the takeaway is simple. Crypto has moved one step closer to getting the federal rulebook it has been asking for.
That does not mean the final bill will be friendly to every part of the industry. It may still be narrowed, amended or slowed down by banking groups and skeptical Democrats. But the committee vote shows that Washington is no longer only debating whether crypto should be regulated. It is now debating who gets to shape the rules.
For an industry that has spent years fighting enforcement actions, agency disputes and regulatory uncertainty, that alone is a major shift.