PiCK
Solana Policy Institute Says US Senate May Step Up Clarity Act Review by Late July
Summary
- The Solana Policy Institute said debate over the Digital Asset Market Structure Act (Clarity Act) could begin in earnest next month.
- Whitehouse-Levine said the Senate will likely begin a full review of the Clarity Act by late next month, though the timing of its passage remains uncertain.
- He said the US is shifting digital asset regulation toward a framework centered on clear rules through two tracks: the GENIUS Act and the Clarity Act.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
The Solana Policy Institute, a think tank focused on the Solana blockchain, said debate over the Digital Asset Market Structure Act, known as the Clarity Act, could begin in earnest next month.
Miller Whitehouse-Levine, chief executive officer of the Solana Policy Institute, spoke at a June 22 seminar at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Seoul's Yeouido district titled "Global Trends in Digital Asset Institutionalization and South Korea's Legislative Direction." He said the Senate will likely begin a serious review of the Clarity Act by late July.
Whitehouse-Levine presented on "the current state of US digital asset regulation" at the event. Most major bills need 60 votes to pass the Senate, he said, making the legislative timetable uncertain. Debate could stretch into next year.
He also outlined US legislative developments on digital assets, including the Clarity Act. The US has largely regulated digital assets after the fact through lawsuits and enforcement actions over the past several years, he said. The Clarity Act is intended to replace that uncertainty with clear, codified rules.
A key feature of the bill is its framework for distinguishing securities from commodities. Whitehouse-Levine said the Clarity Act measures decentralization by looking at control to determine whether a digital asset is a security or a commodity. If a blockchain network has a party that controls the protocol, the bill would treat the asset as closer to a security.
If a blockchain network is truly decentralized, by contrast, the digital asset would be treated as a commodity. He said the bill uses a multi-factor test to assess whether a specific person or group can direct or alter the blockchain network.
Whitehouse-Levine also discussed the GENIUS Act, the US stablecoin law enacted last year. He described it as the first federal regulatory framework for dollar-based stablecoins in the US. Lawmakers set the basic structure, and regulators are now drafting the detailed rules, he said.
The US is developing digital asset regulation on two tracks through the GENIUS Act and the Clarity Act, he added. Both measures mark a shift away from an enforcement-led, case-by-case approach toward a framework centered on clear rules.
