DeFi Debrief: Week of May 11, 2026

Special Edition: Senate Banking Committee Advances Clarity Act — The Before, During, and What’s Next

Senate Banking Committee Advances Clarity Act

On May 11, 2026, the Senate Banking Committee released the latest text of The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Among other things, the proposed legislation included developer protections under the securities laws (Sec. 601), the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) (Sec. 604), and self-custody protections (Sec. 605), which are important provisions that protect developers and infrastructure providers from being treated as intermediaries. You can find a section-by-section of the updated Clarity Act linked here. 

This draft of Section 604, the BRCA, reflected the compromise from Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), which addressed concerns raised by Senator Grassley. Specifically, the new text explicitly preserves the application of 18 U.S.C. 1960(b)(1)(C) to any person that specifically intends to transfer funds on behalf of another person when those funds are known to be derived from a criminal offense or intended to promote or support unlawful activity. 

Identifying and Tracking Anti-DeFi Amendments 

Senators filed more than 100 amendments ahead of the May 14th markup. DEF reviewed the amendments, and then compiled a list of anti-DeFi amendments, which can be found on X here. 

The Senate Banking Committee Clarity Act Markup

On May 14, 2026, the Senate Banking Committee advanced H.R. 3633—The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025—out of committee with a bipartisan 15-9 vote. Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) joined the Republican majority in support of the legislation. As Chairman Scott (R-SC) emphasized in his opening statement, the legislation “brings digital assets out of the shadows and into a system that is safer, fairer, and more transparent.” 

During the markup, Members raised open issues such as ethics guardrails, law enforcement and illicit finance concerns around DeFi, and community bank provisions. In particular, there was a significant discussion about the role of crypto mixers. Senator Moreno (R-OH) and Senator Lummis (R-WY) highlighted the importance of a technology-neutral approach to combatting illicit finance, with Senator Lummis reminding the committee, “if you carve out one thing for specific treatment, it sends a signal that DeFi software is not welcome in this country, and we don’t want to send that signal.”  Members also underscored the robust anti-money laundering provisions and law enforcement tools in the Act. 

The post-markup legislative text incorporates bipartisan amendments from committee members, covering issues including insider trading, consumer protection, and regulatory sandboxes for the use of AI in financial technology tools. Notably, amendment #122 introduced by Senator Lummis, but reflecting a bipartisan agreement with Committee Democrats, removed protections from Section 301 that made it explicit that rulemakings under that provision would not apply to non-controlling blockchain developers. While it is extremely positive that this bill will advance with bipartisan support, this compromise was a net-negative outcome for software developers. 

Rebecca Rettig, DEF Board Member and COO + CLO of Jito Labs, highlighted the significance of ensuring software developer protections remain in the legislation as negotiations continue (see Coindesk’s The Policy Protocol clip here). 

What Comes Next: The Road to the Floor 

Though they both voted yes, demonstrating their commitment to moving this bill forward, Senators Alsobrooks and Gallego were careful to signal their votes should not be read as commitments to voting yes on the Senate floor. 

Senator Alsobrooks stated: “The digital revolution is upon us, and it has presented a clear opportunity to support small businesses, generate wealth, spur innovation, and support younger Americans who want to be part of this revolution. And this digital revolution is happening with us or without us—we have a responsibility to regulate it to create rules of the road.” However, Senator Alsobrooks was direct, noting, “My vote today is a vote to keep working in good faith. It does not mean that I’ll be voting for the passage of the Clarity Act on the floor because we still have so much work to do.” 

Next up? The Senate Banking Committee will confer with the Senate Agriculture Committee to reconcile their version of the bill, The Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act (which deals with Commodity Futures Trading Commission jurisdiction) in preparation for floor consideration. And now we wait for the Senate to schedule a full Senate floor vote. 

In their closing remarks, both Chairman Scott and Senator Lummis stressed the importance of continuing the work, with Lummis vowing not to let go “until people on both sides of the aisle are satisfied that this is a product we can all be proud of.”

SEC’s Landon Zinda Explains DeFi Front-End Guidance

On May 11, 2026, Landon Zinda, Counsel to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and Senior Advisor for the Crypto Task Force, sat for a conversation with Tony Edward for the “Thinking Crypto” podcast. Notably, in the interview, Zinda explained that DeFi interfaces “act more like tools for the user. They allow them to execute their own decisions and make decisions for themselves and they just relay those messages to the blockchain, and so the staff is making a big statement that these things don’t have to register.”

Notable and Quotable

“This legislation does not take sides between traditional finance and new technology, or Republicans and Democrats. It takes the side of everyday Americans. It brings digital assets out of the shadows and into a system that is safer, fairer, and more transparent. This is what good governance looks like.”

– Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) opening remarks at Senate Banking Committee markup of the CLARITY act