Non-Decentralized DeFi Protocols to Register with CFTC Under Revised CLARITY Act
- U.S. Senate Republicans released a 630-page revised version of the CLARITY Act on September 10, incorporating over 100 amendments proposed by Democratic lawmakers.
- The new version expands CFTC jurisdiction to include non-decentralized DeFi protocols, defining them by three criteria: presence of a controller capable of altering functions, non-transparent transaction execution, or ability to restrict user access.
- Protocol operators retaining upgrade keys, pause switches, or transaction review rights may need to register with CFTC and comply with recordkeeping and Bank Secrecy Act obligations.
- A Senate cloture vote scheduled for September 15 will determine whether to proceed with bill consideration, requiring 60 votes; as of September 10, the bill had not secured Democratic support.
- The revised text maintains restrictions on stablecoin yield payments to U.S. users while preserving transaction-based rewards, leaving unresolved disputes between banking and crypto industries.
U.S. Senate Republicans released a revised 630-page version of the "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act" (CLARITY Act) on September 10, aimed at rewriting the House-passed H.R. 3633. The bill seeks to delineate regulatory boundaries between the SEC and CFTC for the U.S. crypto market. A Senate cloture vote is scheduled for September 15 to determine whether to proceed with consideration, requiring 60 votes. As of September 10, the revised text had not secured support from Democratic lawmakers, creating uncertainty about the bill's procedural advancement.
The September version expands CFTC jurisdiction to non-decentralized DeFi protocols by establishing three criteria for classification: presence of a controller capable of altering protocol functions or consensus rules, transactions not executed entirely according to transparent pre-written code, or ability to restrict or censor user access. Protocol operators retaining upgrade keys, pause switches, transaction review rights, or asset control may need to register with CFTC and comply with obligations including information disclosure, recordkeeping, business supervision, and Bank Secrecy Act compliance. However, individuals merely running nodes, providing oracles, or developing non-custodial wallets would not incur CFTC registration obligations.
The revised text maintains earlier provisions restricting crypto service providers from paying U.S. users passive interest solely for holding payment stablecoins, while preserving rewards from actual activities such as payments and liquidity provision. The SEC, CFTC, and Treasury must jointly formulate detailed rules within one year of enactment. Disputes between the banking industry, which seeks further restrictions, and crypto platforms, which want to retain transaction incentives, remain unresolved. Additionally, the bill continues to prohibit public officials and federal employees from issuing or sponsoring digital assets while in office, though they may hold digital assets as investments.
非去中心化DeFi协议将需向CFTC注册 修订版CLARITY法案有何变化
美国参议院共和党人于9月10日发布了《数字资产市场清晰法案》(CLARITY法案)的修订版本，共630页，旨在完全改写众议院通过的H.R. 3633。该法案旨在为美国加密货币市场划分SEC和CFTC之间的监管边界。参议院定于9月15日进行冗长辩论投票以决定是否继续审议，需要60票赞成。截至9月10日，修订文本尚未获得民主党议员支持，这给法案的程序推进带来了不确定性。
9月版本通过建立三项分类标准，扩大了CFTC对非去中心化DeFi协议的管辖权：存在能改变协议功能或共识规则的控制者、交易不完全按照透明的预写代码规则执行、或能限制或审查用户访问。保留升级密钥、暂停开关、交易审查权或资产控制权的协议运营者可能需要向CFTC注册，并遵守包括信息披露、记录保存、业务监督和《银行保密法》合规等义务。然而，仅运行节点、提供预言机或开发非托管钱包的个人不会因这些活动而产生CFTC注册义务。
修订文本保持了早期条款，限制加密服务提供商向美国用户支付仅因持有支付稳定币而产生的被动利息，同时保留来自实际活动(如支付和流动性提供)的奖励。SEC、CFTC和财政部必须在法案生效后一年内联合制定详细规则。银行业寻求进一步限制而加密平台希望保留交易激励之间的争议仍未解决。此外，该法案继续禁止公职人员和联邦雇员在任职期间发行或赞助数字资产，尽管他们可以将数字资产作为投资持有。