The US Senate Banking Committee has released the full 309-page text of the Clarity Act, a market structure bill for crypto that is scheduled for committee consideration on Thursday. The draft puts stablecoin yield restrictions, DeFi developer protections, and unresolved conflict-of-interest rules at the center of the next stage in Washington’s crypto policy debate.
Committee chair Tim Scott said the bill reflects serious negotiations inside the panel and is designed to bring certainty, safeguards, and accountability. He also framed the legislation as a way to put consumers first, combat illicit finance, and keep the future of finance in the United States.
Stablecoin yield language draws the sharpest fight
One of the most closely watched provisions bars interest or yield paid solely for holding a payment stablecoin. It also prohibits models that are economically or functionally equivalent to interest on bank deposits. That language follows months of lobbying from banking groups, which have argued that yield-bearing stablecoins could become substitutes for deposits and weaken funding used for mortgages and commercial lending.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on X on Monday that not everyone got what they wanted, but they received what they needed. He added that Coinbase is working with at least five of the world’s largest banks as it tries to help them integrate crypto services.
Before the vote, the American Bankers Association pressed senators to tighten the stablecoin yield provisions even more. Galaxy Research, in a report published last week, took a different view and said stablecoin growth is largely being driven by offshore capital, with large foreign inflows expected to move into US banking infrastructure at a scale that would materially exceed the effect of domestic deposit migration.
DeFi developers keep a key liability shield
The decentralized finance sector secured a major point in the latest version. The bill preserves core language aligned with the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, or BRCA, shielding software developers from being treated as money transmitters when they do not directly control user funds.
A spokesperson for the DeFi Education Fund said the group was encouraged by the direction of negotiations and highlighted that the main protections for developers and infrastructure providers, including BRCA language and protections under the Exchange Act, remain in the bill. The organization said it will watch closely for any amendments this week.
Conflict-of-interest rules remain outside the text
The most politically sensitive issue was left out of the released draft. A conflict-of-interest provision meant to limit how government officials could profit from the crypto industry has not been included, and that omission has become one of the biggest sticking points in bipartisan talks because of President Trump’s crypto interests.
The provision does not fall under the Banking Committee’s jurisdiction, so it could only be added at a later stage. White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said at Consensus Miami 2026 last week that negotiators are trying to build one uniform standard that would apply from the president down to new congressional interns, while rejecting rules written for a specific office or a named official.
Democrats have pushed back hard. Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren said the bill puts investors, national security, and the financial system at risk and does nothing to stop the president and his family from profiting from crypto activity. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said last week that Democrats would not let the bill pass without conflict-of-interest language.
Next steps include version merging and a 60-vote hurdle
Punchbowl News reported that senators have agreed to strengthen enforcement authority in the Clarity Act, especially by allowing prosecutors to pursue crypto-related crimes in money laundering cases. The White House wants the legislation completed by July 4, while Gillibrand said the process could finish by the first week of August.
Even if the bill clears the Banking Committee, it still must be reconciled with a similar version already approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee. After that, lawmakers would still need to settle the conflict-of-interest dispute and secure 60 votes on the Senate floor. Last year, the GENIUS Act passed the Senate by 68 to 30, showing that crypto legislation can still move with bipartisan backing.