On July 16, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a legislative proposal known as the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act of 2025 (H.R.3633) by a vote of 294 in favor and 134 against. This bill is currently under review in the Senate, marking a historic step for the United States in digital asset regulation.
Why is this bill important?
For a long time, the U.S. regulatory framework on digital assets and blockchain technology has been ambiguous, overlapping, and even conflicting. The unclear division of responsibilities between the SEC and the CFTC has led to legal uncertainty for innovators, hindering the development of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry.
The goal of the CLARITY Act is to eliminate this ambiguity and build a clearer, unified, and predictable regulatory framework, thereby:
Encouraging responsible innovation;
Protecting consumer and investor rights;
Consolidating the United States' leadership position in the global digital asset market.
Providing clear rules for blockchain entrepreneurs and investors;
The core role of the bill
1. Clarifying regulatory boundaries: SEC vs CFTC
The CLARITY Act distinguishes between 'digital commodities' and 'investment contract assets':
The CFTC is responsible for regulating digital goods, including tokens operating on 'Mature Blockchain Systems';
The SEC continues to regulate initial issuance activities involving securities (i.e., the primary market), but some mature tokens may be exempt from securities law. This addresses the longstanding issue of whether digital assets are 'securities' or 'commodities' and simplifies regulatory judgments.
2. Establishing a new entity registration mechanism
The bill introduces new entity categories such as 'digital commodity exchanges,' 'brokers,' and 'dealers,' requiring them to register with the CFTC, establish a chief compliance officer, and comply with capital requirements, client asset custody, anti-money laundering (AML), and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) regulations.
These systems bring compliant infrastructure to the market, helping to guard against fraud and systemic risks.
3. Promoting the development of primary and secondary markets
For digital goods that are not securities, the bill provides the following pathways:
Primary Offering exemption: If the issuer sets a 'mature blockchain' roadmap, raises no more than $50 million, and meets disclosure requirements, they can be exempt from securities law applicability;
Legalization of Secondary Sales: Non-issuers transferring digital goods on-chain will no longer be considered securities transactions;
Unlocking early token liquidity: Allowing old token holders to sell tokens under certain conditions to address historical issues.
These provisions will significantly enhance the market liquidity and legitimate trading environment of digital assets.
How does the control-based framework of a 'Mature Blockchain System' operate?
A key innovation point in the CLARITY Act is the proposal of a 'Control-Based Maturity Framework for Blockchain Systems' to determine whether a blockchain has reached 'mature' status, thus affecting the legal classification of its tokens.
🔍 What is a 'Mature Blockchain System'?
The bill defines a 'Mature Blockchain System' as:
A blockchain system that is no longer controlled by a single entity or coordinating group, operating stably, with transparent governance and verifiable transaction history.
⚙️ Determination criteria include '
No single point of control:No individual or group shall have centralized control over system upgrades, token issuance, or transaction verification processes.
Open-source governance mechanism: The blockchain protocol is changed in an open, transparent, and verifiable manner (such as DAO, community voting).
Decentralization of nodes and validators: The network should have a large number of independent nodes participating in the consensus process.
Historical performance:The system must operate continuously and stably for a certain period without major interruptions or security incidents.
🛠️ Evaluation procedure:
Issuers or third parties can submit materials to the CFTC to apply for the system to be classified as a 'mature blockchain system';
Once certified, the tokens on the system may be classified as 'digital goods' rather than securities; after certification, trading of the related assets can be legally conducted on regulated exchanges without the need to comply with traditional securities regulations.
This mechanism will form institutional recognition for large public chains like Ethereum, while also encouraging new projects to design more decentralized architectures to obtain regulatory exemptions.
Summary: What impact will the CLARITY Act bring?
✅ Empowering innovation: Clear rules allow project parties to no longer be penalized while doing, providing guidelines to follow.
✅ Enhancing investor confidence: The disclosure obligations, compliance requirements, and market classifications introduced by the bill can provide investors with a safer participation environment.
✅ Promoting compliant DeFi and stablecoin development: DeFi protocols and stablecoin projects also benefit from clearer boundaries, especially under the protection of exemptions for non-custodial and decentralized systems.
⚠️ But it also faces controversy: Consumer protection organizations worry that the bill is too biased towards industry interests, and the Senate is expected to push for stricter disclosure and risk management provisions.
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