US House panel schedules July 17 CLARITY Act hearing as Senate hurdles mount
A New York House hearing will review the crypto market structure bill as Senate opposition over Section 604 grows, though the Justice Department has reportedly disputed claims that it would weaken criminal enforcement.
The US House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a July 17 hearing in New York on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY Act, as Congress debates a federal crypto market structure framework and the Trump administration seeks bipartisan support before the August recess. The bill would divide oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, but its Senate path remains uncertain because it needs 60 votes and faces opposition over Section 604, which incorporates the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act. Four law enforcement organizations and a separate group described as roughly 80 organizations and leaders or nearly 100 Catholic leaders warned that the provision could create gaps in anti-money laundering, know-your-customer, and financial-crime enforcement, while the Blockchain Association said the US Department of Justice considers those claims factually incorrect and does not believe the bill would hamper criminal investigations.
- CLARITY Act: A U.S. bill that would create a digital-asset market structure framework and divide oversight between the CFTC and SEC.
- Section 604: A CLARITY Act provision incorporating the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, stating that certain developers or infrastructure providers that cannot control users’ assets are not money transmitters under federal law.
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission: The U.S. derivatives regulator that would oversee cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin under the proposed bill.