clarity

According to the SEC's official website, Paul S. Atkins, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), spoke at the AI+ Expo on May 8, expressing the regulatory direction for AI and on-chain financial markets.Atkins stated that the SEC will promote several regulatory initiatives around on-chain markets, including: establishing relevant rules for the definition of "exchanges" for on-chain trading systems; clarifying the applicability of the definitions of brokers and dealers in on-chain activities; delineating the applicable boundaries of the definition of "clearing agencies" for on-chain clearing and settlement activities; and providing regulatory guidance for activities related to "Crypto Vaults."Regarding AI regulation, Atkins emphasized that the SEC will not mandate companies to use specific models but will adhere to its core responsibilities of protecting investors, maintaining market fairness and efficiency, and promoting capital formation, requiring companies to be accountable for the outcomes of the AI tools they deploy.Atkins also urged Congress to promptly send the CLARITY Act to the President for signing, to provide long-term certainty for the digital asset market through legislation, and warned that forcing innovation offshore would repeat the mistakes of FTX, harming the interests of American investors.

According to crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee will review H.R.3633, the "2025 Digital Asset Market Clarification Act," at 10:30 AM Eastern Time on May 14. Committee members will vote on the bill text and related amendments at that time.If the bill is passed, the Banking Committee version will be merged with the portion handled by the Senate Agriculture Committee into a final version, which will then be submitted for a full Senate vote.

According to crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett, multiple industry insiders have revealed that the Senate Banking Committee may notify about the review of the CLARITY Act as early as tomorrow and has distributed the legislative draft text to some industry members, with a vote expected next Thursday.Insiders stated that the language of the draft is still being finalized, and additional revisions are anticipated to reflect the priorities of the Democratic office. One insider, after reviewing the bill and coordinating with industry leaders, indicated that the overall atmosphere is currently positive, but some terms in parentheses have raised concerns, and some key provisions that were previously thought to be resolved may still be subject to change.

Kara Calvert, Vice President of U.S. Policy at Coinbase, stated that the CLARITY Act could enter the review stage in the U.S. Senate Banking Committee as early as next week. Calvert said at the Consensus 2026 conference, "My prediction is that we will be reviewing it next week." She pointed out that the bill needs at least 60 votes in the Senate to pass and requires bipartisan support to officially become law.She stated, "This means you need Democrats. You need a bipartisan-supported bill, and we have been working very hard to ensure that bipartisan cooperation can be maintained. I think the biggest question is how the votes will shape up in the coming days." A survey released by HarrisX on Thursday showed strong, broad, and consistent demand for clear federal rules. More than 70% of voters said the U.S. should have already passed clear cryptocurrency legislation, and 62% said it is important for the U.S. to set global rules for digital finance. Calvert also mentioned that the lack of consistent tax policy is a major "barrier" to institutional adoption of cryptocurrency, adding that tax reform is a bigger issue for institutions than market structure legislation.

According to The Block, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stated that he is "very confident" that the stablecoin legislation, the Clarity Act, will pass before this summer, and publicly supports the compromise version proposed by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks.The proposal retains activity-based rewards linked to actual platform usage and limits balance-based idle yield, which banks view as a risk of deposit outflow.Grewal mentioned that banks failed to provide substantial evidence of deposit outflow risk during multiple meetings and warned that if the compromise is rejected, banks will face a more lenient framework under the GENIUS Act, which allows any non-issuer to offer any rewards. Grewal expects the Clarity Act to pass by this summer at the latest.

According to Cointelegraph, several major banking organizations in the United States have jointly stated that despite senators attempting to prohibit stablecoins from generating yields through the CLARITY Act, the latest wording in the bill still contains loopholes that fail to effectively prevent the outflow of bank deposits and do not adequately protect bank deposits.In a joint statement released, the American Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute, the Consumer Bankers Association, the Financial Services Forum, and the Independent Community Bankers of America pointed out that Section 404 of the bill allows crypto platforms to pay users interest or yields similar to bank deposits outside traditional rules, which is a significant loophole that needs to be addressed.Bank representatives warned that if the loophole is not closed, the large-scale adoption of stablecoins could lead to the loss of trillions of dollars in deposits from the U.S. banking system, particularly community banks, and could reduce loans to consumers, small businesses, and agriculture by more than one-fifth.Senator Thom Tillis responded that the current text has reached a compromise: it prohibits rewards on idle balances of stablecoins while allowing crypto platforms to offer other forms of customer rewards, believing this provides a possibility for bipartisan passage of the bill.However, the banking industry stated that it will submit specific amendment proposals to lawmakers in the coming days. The current text of the CLARITY Act was made public last Friday, and the crypto industry, including Coinbase, is pushing for a vote in the Senate next week.

Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett posted on the X platform that U.S. Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks issued a joint statement regarding the compromise proposal on stablecoin earnings in Section 404 of the CLARITY Act. The statement may indicate that the relevant agreement is close to being finalized.The statement said that the two have discussed concerns from various stakeholders about the banking industry's worries regarding deposit outflows, and the related compromise proposal will prohibit stablecoin rewards similar to bank deposit interest while allowing crypto companies to offer other forms of customer rewards.

According to Crypto In America, the U.S. CLARITY Act has reached a key compromise on the yield mechanism for stablecoins, clearing an important obstacle for the Senate Banking Committee to advance its review.Under the latest proposal, crypto companies can offer rewards (such as cashback or membership benefits) based on user transaction behavior, but are prohibited from paying interest yields (APY) on idle stablecoin balances. This compromise means that stablecoins will be explicitly positioned as payment tools, rather than as bank-like deposits or high-yield savings products. The industry generally believes that this provision strikes a balance between the crypto industry and traditional banks, but is overall more favorable to the banking system.Industry organizations, including Coinbase, have renewed their support for the bill, believing that although the yield restrictions have tightened, there is still room to earn rewards based on actual usage scenarios. Some industry insiders have pointed out that this move limits the financial attributes of stablecoins.In terms of the regulatory process, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott is expected to schedule a markup of the bill soon, possibly as early as mid-May after Congress reconvenes. Additionally, discussions around DeFi regulation (such as defining developer responsibilities) and ethical provisions are still ongoing and may become important variables affecting the bill's final passage. The market generally believes that the next two weeks will be a critical window for whether the CLARITY Act can be implemented.

Galaxy Research Director Alex Thorn posted on the X platform that the CLARITY Act currently has a higher urgency, one reason being the intense competition for control of the U.S. Senate. If the Democrats regain control of the Senate, former Senator Sherrod Brown may reclaim the chairmanship of the Senate Banking Committee; however, if he fails to win the Ohio Senate election but the Democrats still secure control of the Senate, the committee may be led by Elizabeth Warren.The potential personnel changes mentioned above could significantly impact the regulatory direction of the cryptocurrency industry, thereby increasing the real urgency for advancing the CLARITY Act. Note: Elizabeth Warren is not friendly towards the cryptocurrency industry; she has urged the U.S. Treasury to implement strict accompanying rules for the GENIUS Act and has explicitly issued guidance prohibiting the use of federal resources such as the foreign exchange stabilization fund or the Federal Reserve's emergency lending tools to backstop stablecoins and the cryptocurrency industry.

U.S. lawmakers have reached an agreement on the stablecoin yield provision, which had previously stalled the Clarity Act in the Senate for months.Senators Tom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks have finalized the text of the relevant compromise, which stipulates in Section 404 that crypto companies may not offer interest or yields that are economically or functionally equivalent to bank deposits, but allows for activity incentives related to the use of real platforms. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that the Senate Banking Committee should be urged to review the bill as soon as possible. This progress may provide the conditions needed to advance the previously stagnant review process.

The probability of the Polymarket "CLARITY Act officially taking effect in 2026" has risen to 67%, up 21% in 24 hours. The event contract rules are: if the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (H.R.3633) is passed by both houses of the U.S. Congress and signed into law before 11:59 PM Eastern Time on December 31, 2026, the answer will be "yes"; otherwise, it will be "no."Coinbase has indicated that a key disagreement regarding the yield terms for stablecoin holdings has been compromised with traditional banks, clearing obstacles for the U.S. Senate to advance the cryptocurrency market structure bill. Previously, banks had lobbied to restrict or prohibit exchanges from offering yields to stablecoin holders, mainly concerned about funds flowing out of the banking deposit system. Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad stated that the final proposal retains space for users to earn rewards through crypto platforms and networks based on actual use cases while adding some restrictions. This progress is expected to facilitate the CLARITY Act entering the voting process in the Senate Banking Committee.

Members of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee announced a compromise text on the "Clarity Act" on Friday, which allows cryptocurrency companies to continue implementing stablecoin reward programs but prohibits them from offering stablecoin yields equivalent to bank deposit functions or economic benefits.

According to BBX data, yesterday the earnings season for cryptocurrency-related stocks and the expansion of stablecoin infrastructure advanced simultaneously, with the following key developments:Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: $HOOD) released its Q1 2026 earnings report and submitted SEC Form 8-K after the market closed on April 28: total revenue of $1.07 billion (up 15% year-over-year), below the analyst consensus expectation of $1.14 billion; adjusted EPS of $0.38, slightly lower than the consensus of $0.39; cryptocurrency trading revenue plummeted 47% year-over-year to $134 million (compared to $252 million in the same period last year), with cryptocurrency trading volume also declining 48% to $24 billion, marking the third consecutive quarter of declining cryptocurrency revenue. Meanwhile, revenue from event contracts (prediction markets) surged 320% year-over-year to $147 million, surpassing cryptocurrency revenue for the first time to become the largest source of trading revenue, with a record contract volume of 8.8 billion for the quarter; affected by the earnings report, $HOOD fell about 13.24% to $71.20 yesterday.Visa Inc. (NYSE: $V) announced on April 29 through an official BusinessWire press release that five new blockchains—Arc, Base, Canton, Polygon, and Tempo—have been added to its global stablecoin settlement pilot, expanding the total supported network to nine (previously Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Stellar); the annualized scale of stablecoin settlements reached $7 billion, a 50% increase from the previous quarter. The pilot allows issuing banks and acquiring banks to settle using stablecoins instead of traditional banking rails, currently covering over 50 countries and more than 130 stablecoin-related card projects, and has expanded to USDC settlements with U.S. banks.Senator Cynthia Lummis publicly confirmed on April 29 that the markup for the CLARITY Act in the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled for May 2026; at the same time, the SEC announced it will hold a roundtable discussion on May 3 regarding issues related to the CLARITY Act, further clarifying the signals of coordination between regulatory and legislative bodies to accelerate the process, providing an official timeline endorsement for the previously anticipated "end of May" market expectations.

Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett posted on the X platform that U.S. Senator Thom Tillis plans to push the Clarity Act into the Senate Banking Committee's markup stage as soon as possible, stating that there has been "a significant consensus" on the legislative progress, and it should now enter the formal advancement process.Thom Tillis stated in Congress that he will request the committee chair to schedule a hearing after the congressional recess and expects to release the legislative text regarding stablecoin yield provisions 4 to 5 days before the hearing for the industry and stakeholders to review in advance. Most concerns from the banking sector regarding the risks associated with stablecoin yield have been addressed in discussions, and institutions with remaining opinions are encouraged to "participate in good faith to improve the legislation."Additionally, Thom Tillis mentioned that he generally supports the legislative framework proposed by Senator Cynthia Lummis regarding issues such as the potential impact of applying 1960 criminal provisions to software developers and law enforcement. This statement indicates that U.S. crypto regulatory legislation is accelerating into a substantive advancement phase concerning the definition of stablecoins and developer responsibilities.

The proposer of the "Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act," U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, stated that concerns about the developer protection provisions of the "CLARITY Act" are not a new issue. Efforts are currently underway to improve these provisions, aiming to ensure the safety of non-fund transfer developers while holding wrongdoers accountable.

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis stated at the "Bitcoin 2026" conference that she plans to promote the CLARITY Act into the legislative process and push for its final implementation to establish a complete regulatory framework for the U.S. crypto market.Lummis also stated that Bitcoin, with its characteristics of not requiring a trusted third party and having a limited supply, is "truly free money," and believes that the U.S. should become the global hub for this asset.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Chairman Mike Selig stated at the Bitcoin 2026 Conference that U.S. digital asset regulation is entering a "new phase," with both agencies working together to advance a regulatory framework for crypto assets, encouraging related businesses to develop domestically in the U.S.Both parties mentioned that the jointly released token classification guidelines have differentiated between digital commodities, collectibles, and tokenized securities, emphasizing the push for clearer, future-oriented legislative rules. Paul Atkins also stated that the SEC is preparing to launch an "innovation exemption" and plans to allow companies to test on-chain tokenization and securitization tools in a regulated environment in the coming weeks.

On April 25 local time, Trump attended a TRUMP luncheon at Mar-a-Lago and delivered a speech lasting about 45 minutes, covering topics such as the cryptocurrency industry, the Iran war, and Biden.White House reporter Sander Lutz stated that aside from expressing hope for the passage of the CLARITY Act and that he would sign it immediately, Trump did not reveal many other specific details. Some industry insiders had hoped he would provide more information about this important bill for the cryptocurrency industry.