The CLARITY Act Has Changed Again, and Crypto Is Approaching a Critical Juncture

Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Senate recently released a new version of the CLARITY Act, spanning 630 pages and adding new rules for “non-decentralized” DeFi trading protocols. The revised text makes clear that some trading protocols still effectively controlled by specific individuals or teams may need to register with the CFTC in the future and assume corresponding compliance obligations.

The signal from this adjustment is clear: the U.S. is not seeking to regulate DeFi with a “one-size-fits-all” approach, but is trying to distinguish genuinely decentralized protocols from platforms that “look very DeFi in name but are actually controlled by someone.” Developers, self-custody, and genuinely decentralized projects may instead gain clearer legal boundaries.

What the market is truly watching is the key procedural vote on September 15. The bill needs bipartisan support to move forward, while Democrats and Republicans still remain divided over anti-money-laundering rules, stablecoin yields, banking competition, and conflicts of interest.

If the CLARITY Act moves forward smoothly, BTC, ETH, and sectors such as compliant DeFi and RWA may gain opportunities for valuation repricing; but if the vote is blocked, the short-term market may also see a “sell-the-news” reaction. So this time, what Crypto is truly trading is not just a bill, but the framework for digital-asset regulation in the U.S. over the next decade.#美参议院发布新版CLARITY法案