Northeast South Dakota News

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act with a vote of 294-134. The legislation aims to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States, offering consumer and investor protection while fostering innovation domestically.

U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), who serves as Chairman of the Agriculture subcommittee on digital assets, introduced the bill in May alongside Committee on Agriculture Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-PA), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), Committee on Financial Services Chairman French Hill (R-AR), and Financial Services subcommittee on digital assets Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI). The CLARITY Act received bipartisan support from both the House Agriculture Committee and House Financial Services Committee in June.

“If America doesn’t lead in digital asset development, we risk losing innovation to Europe or our adversary China,” said Johnson. “Our CLARITY Act puts in place a strong, commonsense framework to give developers and consumers the certainty they need to thrive in the United States. I’m grateful for the work of my colleagues who helped get this bill across the finish line in the House and I am hopeful the Senate acts soon – there is no time to waste.”

“Today’s bipartisan passage of the CLARITY Act marks a historic step forward in delivering clear rules of the road for America’s digital asset ecosystem,” said Chairman Thompson. “This bill delivers on President Trump’s goal of making the United States the crypto capital of the world by providing regulatory certainty needed to foster innovation, safeguard consumers, and ensure America leads in the next generation of financial technology.”

“At present, there is no established market structure to protect consumers or provide clear rules of the road for businesses and innovators. It’s the wild, wild west! Congress must deliver market structure legislation that brings clarity,” said Rep. Don Davis (D-NC), Ranking Member of the Agriculture subcommittee on digital assets. “Millions of Americans are holding cryptocurrency, using it in financial transactions, or using other digital tokens as part of new, innovative technologies and services. There must be consumer protections, and United States must lead.”

The CLARITY Act proposes:

- Establishing clear regulatory lanes between Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

- Providing a pathway for digital asset developers to raise funds under SEC jurisdiction.

- Offering market participants a trusted pathway to trade digital commodities through intermediaries overseen by CFTC.

- Protecting consumers by requiring developers to disclose relevant information about their projects.

Digital assets hold potential for significant internet innovation; however, existing regulatory ambiguity has hindered progress while leaving consumers unprotected.