| Topic | Existing framework (pre-CLARITY) | CLARITY Act |
|---|---|---|
| Primary statute | Securities Act of 1933, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). Digital assets assessed case-by-case under the Howey test as applied by the SEC and the courts. | Amends the CEA and federal securities laws to create defined categories — 'digital commodity,' 'permitted payment stablecoin,' and 'investment contract asset' — and allocates jurisdiction by category. |
| Lead market regulator | SEC asserts jurisdiction over most token offerings and secondary trading via the investment-contract prong of Howey. CFTC has anti-fraud/anti-manipulation authority over digital asset commodities in spot markets but no comprehensive market-structure authority. | CFTC is given exclusive regulatory authority over the spot market for 'digital commodities,' including registration of digital commodity exchanges, brokers, and dealers. SEC retains authority over digital assets offered or sold as part of an investment contract and over 'investment contract assets.' |
| Asset classification test | Howey test (investment of money in a common enterprise with an expectation of profits derived from the efforts of others). No statutory definition of 'digital asset' in the federal securities or commodities laws. | Introduces a 'mature blockchain system' concept: a digital asset native to a blockchain system that is functional and decentralized (no single person or affiliated group has unilateral control) can be treated as a digital commodity rather than a security, even if it was originally distributed via an investment contract. |
| Treatment of the underlying token after an investment-contract sale | SEC has taken the position that the token itself can continue to be a security when sold into secondary markets if the surrounding ecosystem still meets Howey. | Distinguishes the investment contract (a security) from the underlying digital asset. The asset itself is an 'investment contract asset' that can later be sold as a digital commodity once the associated blockchain system is certified as mature, without the asset itself being a security. |
| Payment stablecoins | No federal stablecoin statute. SEC, CFTC, OCC, and state regulators each assert partial authority depending on issuer and structure. | Carves 'permitted payment stablecoins' (as defined under the separate federal payment stablecoin regime) out of both the 'security' and 'digital commodity' definitions for most purposes, so they are regulated primarily by their prudential issuer regulator rather than the SEC or CFTC. |
| Exchanges and trading venues | Platforms listing tokens deemed securities must register with the SEC as exchanges, brokers, or ATSs. Spot crypto exchanges generally operate under state money-transmitter licenses with no federal market-structure regime. | Creates federal registration categories at the CFTC for digital commodity exchanges, digital commodity brokers, and digital commodity dealers, with customer-protection, segregation, recordkeeping, and conflict-of-interest rules modeled on the CEA. |
| Disclosure regime for token issuers | Securities Act registration (Form S-1) or an exemption (Reg D, Reg A+, Reg CF). Disclosures designed for traditional issuers. | Establishes a tailored disclosure regime at the SEC for offers and sales of investment contracts involving digital assets, including project, token-economics, and source-code disclosures, with a path to exit SEC reporting once the blockchain system is certified as mature. |
| Anti-fraud and anti-manipulation | SEC enforces anti-fraud under the securities laws for assets it deems securities. CFTC enforces anti-fraud and anti-manipulation in spot commodity markets under CEA sections 6(c)(1) and 9(a)(2). | Preserves CFTC anti-fraud and anti-manipulation authority over the spot market for digital commodities and preserves SEC anti-fraud authority over investment contracts and investment-contract assets. |
| Joint rulemaking and coordination | Limited formal coordination; jurisdictional disputes generally resolved through litigation. | Directs the SEC and CFTC to engage in joint rulemaking on key boundary issues — including the process for certifying a blockchain system as mature, treatment of mixed digital asset transactions, and portfolio margining between securities and digital commodities. |
| Self-certification and review | No statutory self-certification mechanism for token status. | Allows blockchain projects to self-certify that an associated blockchain system is a mature blockchain system, subject to SEC review and a defined objection process within statutory timelines. |
Digital commodity. A digital asset that is intrinsically linked to a blockchain system and whose value is reasonably related to the use, functioning, or adoption of that system; primary spot-market jurisdiction sits with the CFTC.
Investment contract asset. A digital asset sold pursuant to an investment contract; the contract is a security, but the underlying asset is not automatically a security in secondary markets.
Mature blockchain system. A blockchain system that is functional and decentralized, with no person having unilateral control over the network, its rules, or a majority of the digital asset supply.
Permitted payment stablecoin. As defined under the federal payment stablecoin regime; excluded from the definitions of both 'security' and 'digital commodity' for most purposes of the Act.
H.R. 3633 — Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, as passed by the House on July 17, 2025. Full text and status: congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3633.
Securities Act of 1933, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.) for the existing framework.
SEC v. W.J. Howey Co., 328 U.S. 293 (1946) for the Howey test.
This page summarizes statutory text and is provided for reference only. It is not legal advice.