Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of nearly 44 million American consumers who have invested in, traded, or used digital assets. That is one in five Americans. The public interest in these markets is already here, and it is not going away.

Under the status quo, there is a gap in regulation for the digital commodity asset market. Our work here today could begin to provide the protections that American investors are accustomed to in traditional financial markets that are regulated by the CFTC.

Regardless of whether Congress acts, these markets will continue to grow. The only question is whether we will begin the hard work of developing regulation or refuse to begin.

The CLARITY Act would put consumer protections in place for the first time for this industry. Consumers will finally be protected by the same sort of guardrails that protect investors in other sectors of the economy: segregation of customer deposits, consumer disclosures, mandatory recordkeeping, and examination by regulators. We do not want another FTX.

The 2022 collapse of the world's third largest cryptocurrency exchange wiped out an estimated $8 billion to $10 billion in value, leaving American consumers holding the bag. The CLARITY Act would have largely mitigated or avoided this crisis entirely.

Former Biden administration CFTC Chairman Russ Behnam testified yesterday before the Senate Agriculture Committee:

`` . . . inaction will only result in greater risk to our financial markets and investors, through lack of market transparency, fraud, market manipulation, corruption, and conflicts of interest.''

That is lack of action.

Mr. Speaker, let me address the elephant in the room: the First Family's involvement with digital assets and personally profiting from them.

It has rightfully raised questions of impropriety and alarmed government ethics watchdogs. The First Family's personal financial involvement in other sectors, such as telecoms, should ring alarm bells, as well, loud and clear as it comes to ethics in our country.

There is a time and place for holding the powerful accountable, and that must happen. We should address executive branch corruption independently, and it should apply to all sectors.

Today, we must focus on regulation and protections for consumers because, today, one in five Americans, and growing, lack those protections and lack any guardrails. It is our job to start putting them in place.

Is this bill perfect? No. Can it be improved upon? Absolutely, and I encourage my Senate colleagues to keep working on those outstanding issues.

Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3633, known as the CLARITY Act.

I am honored to serve as a co-lead on this legislation, alongside Chairman Thompson, Chairman Hill, Ranking Member Craig, Subcommittee Chair Johnson, and so many others who came to the table in good faith to get this done.

Let me also take a moment to thank the staff, both the majority and the minority staff. They put in so many hours working on this. I know I was up late one night. It was probably midnight. I really commend the team. They helped work on a very complex issue here that is before us and to help shape a bipartisan product that reflects the seriousness of the moment.

This bill reflects compromise, collaboration, and months of work to craft the regulatory framework that meets the moment, because the truth is, we can't afford to fall behind.

Right now we are at a crossroad. The digital asset industry is growing, evolving, changing the way people around the world engage with financial markets and emerging technologies. Without a clear regulatory structure in place, we are seeing innovation move overseas not because our talent isn't here, but because the rules aren't here.

The CLARITY Act provides us with an opportunity then to change that, to lead, to establish thoughtful and balanced guardrails that support innovation, protect consumers, and foster confidence in our markets.

You see disclosures and reports dealing with so many provisions, antifraud, manipulation. You can't commingle funds.

But let me be clear: The bill isn't perfect. I have been vocal about that, too.

I remain concerned about the absence of meaningful conflict-of- interest provisions dealing with the executive branch. It doesn't matter who occupies the White House. The bottom line is, whoever is in the White House, we need clear standards that ensure public trust is never compromised.

I also remain concerned about adequate resources for the CFTC. Yes, I acknowledge this bill provides more flexibility to deal with hiring, but we also need to see more resources because we are asking the CFTC to take on a major role here.

Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina. In the 118th Congress, we passed FIT21 with overwhelming bipartisan support. The CLARITY Act builds on this work. Let's pass the CLARITY Act and send a strong message to the American people and the world that the United States will lead in building a forward-looking digital economy.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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Ms. CRAIG. McDonald Rivet), my distinguished colleague who serves on the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development.

Ms. McDONALD RIVET. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice support for the CLARITY Act. While there is still work to be done, it is an important step in providing crucial and clear regulatory framework to the crypto industry.

Let's break it down. Today, one in six U.S. adults, 17 percent of the population, are invested in or use cryptocurrency. That is 55 million Americans. There is more than $3 trillion invested in the industry. It is dangerous and irresponsible that a market of this size and scope is currently operating without a clear regulatory framework. For consumers, innovators, and the stability of our Nation's economy, the CLARITY Act is an important first step forward.

It protects consumers and equips assigned agencies with the appropriate authority to provide efficient and thorough oversight over digital asset markets. It also provides desperately needed certainty so that businesses can grow and evolve.

I will be clear: If the CLARITY Act had been in place, the FTX market crash that caused their customers to lose $8 billion would not have happened.

This bill strengthens our national security by giving regulators the tools they need to track cross-border transactions and stop digital assets from being used to evade sanctions or fund our adversaries.

The bill is not perfect, and it does not resolve every issue. Like many of my colleagues, I am deeply concerned about the Trump family's potential conflicts of interest in using crypto to profit from the Office of the Presidency. That is why I voted for amendments to impose guardrails to stop elected officials from improperly profiting off trades, and I will continue to push strongly for solutions to this problem.

However, we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We stand at a critical moment where market structure is critical for our consumers, economy, and security, and the CLARITY Act moves us meaningfully forward.

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Ms. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers at the moment. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Chairman G.T. Thompson, and his team for working on this consumer protection legislation in a bipartisan manner.

I believe bipartisan legislation is always preferable to partisan legislation. It is stronger. It is harder to undo when it has broad support and leadership changes overnight.

I heard my chairman talk about the farm bill. I regret that it wasn't a bipartisan path through reconciliation for farm bill provisions, but I am optimistic that we can work together in many other areas.

While I wait to see what the gentleman has in store for us for farm programs left behind, I, too, agree that rural development is incredibly important, Mr. Speaker. I hope that the bipartisanship shown through the CLARITY Act process can act as a reminder that we accomplish more and we go further when we work together.

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Ms. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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