Recently, there has been new progress in U.S. cryptocurrency legislation, which is a significant positive development for the entire industry. Republican Senator Thom Tillis revealed that the highly anticipated "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act" (CLARITY Act) is expected to be reviewed next month, indicating that the long journey toward comprehensive compliance and formal integration of the cryptocurrency industry into the U.S. financial system has finally taken a substantial step.

According to the latest news, the Senate Banking Committee may hold a hearing to review the bill as early as mid-month. Tillis stated that he will urge the committee chair to accelerate the process and plans to have stakeholders review a compromise draft regarding stablecoin yields before the hearing. This move suggests that the issue of "interest-bearing deposits," long advocated by banking lobbying groups, might see some easing in discussion.

However, it would be overly optimistic to say everything is proceeding smoothly. There are still several potential sticking points in the bill. First is the so-called "Trump Clause"—the Democratic Party insists that government officials (including the President and their family) should be prohibited from holding personal business interests in the cryptocurrency industry. Tillis himself supports including such professional ethics standards, but this issue exceeds the scope of the Banking Committee’s review and may require intervention from other committees.

Another more complicated issue is the legal classification of DeFi. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley insists that legal protections for DeFi developers should be reviewed by the Judiciary Committee. This could likely trigger power struggles between committees, potentially delaying the overall legislative process.

Time pressure is actually quite intense. The Senate has only about 11 weeks left in the legislative window before the midterm elections in November, and any delay could cause the bill to miss the critical timeframe this year. The good news is that the House of Representatives already passed its version of the CLARITY Act last year, providing a foundation for the Senate to push forward. Overall, this legislative progress is indeed worth paying attention to, but how far it ultimately goes depends on negotiations among various parties.