Senate Agriculture Committee Advances CLARITY Act

The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee advanced legislation on Thursday to establish a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry, passing the measure 12-11 along strict party lines. The bill, known as the CLARITY Act, would assign primary oversight of spot markets for digital commodities such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while leaving the Securities and Exchange Commission to regulate digital assets sold as investment contracts. The vote marks a procedural milestone after years of debate, but it underscores deep partisan divisions that could complicate the bill's path forward.

The committee's action followed a markup session lasting just over an hour, during which Democratic amendments aimed at addressing ethics concerns and consumer protections were rejected, also along party lines. Republicans, led by Chairman John Boozman of Arkansas, praised the bill as the result of months of substantive discussions and a necessary step to shift cryptocurrency regulation from an enforcement-focused approach to clear statutory guidelines. The legislation includes provisions for registering trading platforms, brokers and...