New Senate Clarity Act Text Released; SEC Commissioner Pierce Speech Re: Crypto Vaults and Lending Strategies; The National Fraternal Order of Police Endorses Clarity Act; and more.

New Senate Clarity Act Text Released: Maintains Developer Protections, Bolsters Law Enforcement Tools

On July 22, 2026, the Senate released a new draft of the Clarity Act, harmonizing proposed text from the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees. While the revised text reflects significant compromises made throughout the legislative process, it preserves critical developer protections and further bolsters the bill’s law enforcement provisions. 

The bill leaves developer protections unchanged, including: 

• Section 10604, which retains the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) and prevents non-controlling, non-custodial developers from being improperly classified as money transmitters under the Bank Secrecy Act;
• Section 10601, which maintains critical developer protections under the Securities Exchange Act;
• Section 10605, the Keep Your Coins Act, which protects everyday Americans’ right to self-custody their digital assets; and 
• Section 20209, which maintains critical developer protections under the Commodity Exchange Act. 

The bill also includes a new Title IX, “Law Enforcement Tools,” which provides resources to law enforcement. The new title supplements the legislation’s illicit finance provisions in Title II, Protecting Against Illicit Finance, and Title III, Responsible Innovation in Decentralized Finance. At first glance, Title IX appears to be smart regulation that will provide law enforcement with appropriate tools without overregulating software developers. In total, the Clarity Act includes 25 sections related to sanctions and AML, following calls from law enforcement groups to strengthen the illicit finance provisions. 

Next up? The Senate is expected to consider a few procedural motions before holding a final vote on the legislation. The DEF team will track amendments that affect DeFi and share updates accordingly.

You can read DEF’s full analysis of the bill text here. 

SEC Commissioner Pierce Speaks About Crypto Vaults and Lending Strategies. 

On July 22, 2026, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce published a statement entitled “Headstands and Summervaults: A Statement on Crypto Vaults and Lending Strategies.” The statement acknowledges the breadth of crypto vault and lending strategies currently available onchain, while cautioning that certain activities involving those tools may trigger federal securities laws. Crypto vaults are smart contracts that allocate funds across staking and lending protocols to generate yield, while lending strategies include decentralized or centralized platforms where users can lend assets in return for rewards. 

Commissioner Pierce explained that, depending on how they are structured, vaults that “hold or allocate assets to securities could fall into investment company territory.” On lending, Commissioner Pierce warned that involvement in managing lending strategies may trigger “investment adviser issues.” 

“As securities move onchain, vaults and onchain lending strategies may become mainstream tools for managing investment portfolios. The promise will only be realized, however, if we grapple now with the intersection between these asset deployment tools and the federal securities laws.”

You can read the full statement here. 

The National Fraternal Order of Police Endorses Clarity Act

On July 24, 2026, The National Fraternal Order of Police submitted a letter to the Senate Banking Committee endorsing the Clarity Act. 

“We believe the provisions outlined above represent a meaningful effort to provide law enforcement with stronger investigative tools, clearer compliance pathways, and improved coordination mechanisms to address these threats while protecting consumers and victims. Accordingly, the FOP’s initial concerns have been satisfactorily addressed and we look forward to working with you to get the amended bill passed,” said National President Patrick Yoes. 

The DEF team reacted to the letter with a celebratory statement on X here. 

Notable Quotable: 

“Lummis has delivered law enforcement what we have never had in this space: clear jurisdiction, mandatory cooperation, actionable intelligence, and the legal framework to prosecute. For years, bad actors have exploited the ambiguity that congressional inaction left in place. This bill replaces this murkiness with specific, enforceable obligations that apply to everyone operating in this market.”

—Austin Knudsen, Attorney General of Montana writing for The Hill (full article here)

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