Opposing the Clarity Act because digital assets have been used for fraud is shortsighted and intellectually dishonest. Every medium of exchange (e.g. cash, checks, wires, ACH, and credit cards) has been used for fraud. What stops fraud is giving law enforcement the tools, resources, and legal clarity to go after criminals. I say this as someone who has worked directly with local law enforcement, Secret Service, FBI, and DOJ to go after criminals.
The Clarity Act contains explicit mandates designed to combat financial crime, strengthen anti-money laundering enforcement, and enhance law enforcement collaboration.
Section 201 — BSA & Sanctions Compliance for Digital Commodity Entities: Formally brings digital commodity brokers, dealers, and exchanges under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and OFAC sanctions rules. Entities must build formal AML/CFT programs, designate compliance officers, conduct independent audits, and file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) with FinCEN.
Section 202 — Risk-Based Examination Standards: Mandates that Treasury and federal regulators establish tailored, risk-based examination standards to audit the adequacy of reporting obligations, customer verification, and AML/CFT programs across registered entities.
Section 203 — Public-Private Information Sharing Pilot (Preventing Illicit Finance Through Partnership Act): Authorizes a formal 5-year pilot program for federal agencies (DOJ, FBI, DEA, Treasury, FinCEN, IRS-CI, OFAC, Secret Service, and DHS) to share live threat intelligence directly with designated private sector entities. This creates explicit safe harbor protections for platforms assisting law enforcement in freezing and seizing illicit funds in real time.
Section 204 — Independent Financial Technology Working Group to Combat Terrorism & Illicit Finance: Establishes an interagency working group (Treasury, DOJ, FBI, Secret Service, DHS, ODNI, and blockchain intelligence firms) to track, analyze, and report annually on illicit usage by foreign terrorist organizations, state sponsors of terrorism, and transnational criminal syndicates.
Section 205 — Crypto Kiosk / ATM Regulation: Directly targets kiosk-based scams and consumer fraud by mandating operational registration, transaction limits, and a dedicated, rapid-response contact point specifically for law enforcement investigations.
Section 305 — Temporary Holds Safe Harbor: Explicitly allows exchanges and digital asset service providers to place short temporary holds on suspicious transactions, including upon receipt of a formal written request from law enforcement, without fear of private civil liability.
Section 302 & Section 401 — SEC & CFTC Anti-Fraud Enforcement: Explicitly grants/preserves market manipulation and anti-fraud enforcement powers for both the CFTC (over digital commodity spot markets) and the SEC (over registered digital asset platforms and permitted payment stablecoins).
Section 308 — Preservation of State Anti-Fraud Authority: Clarifies that nothing in the federal market structure preempts or limits state securities regulators or attorneys general from prosecuting fraud within their jurisdictions.
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Over the last week, our small but mighty
@Morpho team met with nearly a dozen Senate offices to talk about the Clarity Act. The message we heard in every meeting was "we're trying to get to yes." That's encouraging, because the Clarity Act is a massive opportunity for the US to lead on the regulation of digital asset markets, and its a massive improvement over the status quo.
Here's what the status quo actually looks like:
1️⃣ The industry lacks oversight. A lack of regulatory clarity favors bad actors, who take advantage of the uncertainty to exploit consumers. If we don't move now, we're leaving the door open to more bad actors.
2️⃣ The industry lacks transparency. Without mandated disclosures and listing standards, consumers are regularly exposed to scams and frauds.
3️⃣ The industry lacks standards. Without standards around decentralization and control, consumers are exposed to unknown risks when using blockchain networks.
Is the bill perfect? No. But no bill is perfect, and we can't let perfection be the enemy of progress.
The
@BlockchainAssn launched which is a website that helps companies, constituents, and voters urge Senate leadership to bring the Clarity Act to the floor.
Let's get this across the line!
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