NSA shifts to neutral stance on CLARITY Act ahead of Senate cloture vote
The sheriffs' group ended its opposition, while two prosecutors' organizations still seek narrower protections for noncustodial software developers before the Sept. 15 Senate vote.
The official NSA May letter proves the key premise that the association had raised substantive objections to the CLARITY Act. The September 4 X posts by @MaxCrypto and @Zerhylean consistently describe a shift from opposition to neutrality, which supports the claim’s central assertion that opposition was dropped. However, neither the official NSA August letter page nor another primary NSA or Senate document retrieved here confirms the September change, and the available social reporting indicates neutrality—not affirmative support. Therefore the claim is likely true but only moderately confirmed.
The National Sheriffs' Association has withdrawn its opposition to the CLARITY Act and adopted a neutral position before the Senate's scheduled Sept. 15 procedural vote on the digital-asset market-structure legislation. The association set out the change in a Sept. 3 letter to Senate leaders and announced it on Sept. 5, while stressing that neutrality was not an endorsement. Journalist Eleanor Terrett said the NSA had been the last major police organization opposing the bill. The group had called the legislation harmful on July 31 and strongly criticized protections for noncustodial software developers. The shift may reflect extensive discussions between the association and the White House, Terrett said. The National District Attorneys Association and the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys are expected to remain opposed and want the bill's protections for noncustodial software developers substantially narrowed. Terrett said the White House, Treasury, some lawmakers and the crypto industry do not support those changes. Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto previously backed the prosecutors' proposals and has not publicly changed her position. H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, would divide digital-asset oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The House passed it 294-134 on July 17, 2025. Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on Aug. 8, and clearing the 60-vote threshold would begin formal Senate consideration rather than enact the legislation.
- noncustodial software developers: Creators of software that does not control users' assets or hold them on users' behalf.
- cloture: A U.S. Senate procedure that limits debate and allows a measure to advance.
- decentralized finance: Blockchain-based financial services that use software and smart contracts instead of conventional intermediaries.