U.S. Senate Details CLARITY Act: Seven Key Points Balancing Investor Protection and Innovation

【Crypto World】The U.S. Senate Banking Committee recently published an in-depth analysis of the “CLARITY Act,” addressing common misconceptions in the market one by one. This interpretation covers seven core aspects.

First, the act does not break through the existing securities law framework but is based on mature securities law principles, aiming to clearly distinguish which digital assets should be classified as securities and which have commodity attributes. Second, the fundamental nature of the CLARITY Act is an investor protection measure, establishing a clear rule system to combat fraud, manipulation, and market abuse, thereby preventing major risk events like FTX from recurring.

In terms of regulatory authority, the act clarifies the respective responsibilities of the SEC and CFTC, and establishes a joint advisory committee for rule coordination, filling current regulatory gaps. It also introduces targeted anti-avoidance provisions to effectively reduce regulatory arbitrage. Regarding financial intermediaries, the act requires them to implement anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing obligations, strengthen sanctions compliance, and authorize enforcement by the Treasury Department.

For the DeFi ecosystem, the act does not allow it to become an illegal fund channel but emphasizes precise crackdowns on illegal activities. It requires centralized intermediaries interacting with DeFi protocols to establish risk management standards and sets specific rules for intermediaries that are not truly decentralized, protecting code innovation while preventing risks.

The act explicitly protects the rights of software developers and users to self-custody, and does not classify developers who do not control user funds and only publish or maintain code as financial intermediaries. Meanwhile, regulatory agencies retain the necessary intervention capabilities for genuine risks.

Overall, the core goal of the CLARITY Act is to strengthen national security, protect investors’ rights, and promote compliant innovation within a clear rule framework, rather than favoring specific industries.