Main highlights
- Sen. Lummis declared the new Digital Asset Market Structure Act historic and “the most important piece of digital asset legislation.”
- The comprehensive legislation, including the House CLARITY Act and the Senate bill, aims to create clear rules by dividing oversight between the SEC and CFTC.
- This new regulatory development is expected to trigger large-scale integration of digital assets by traditional financial institutions
In a recent post about
Market structure is the most important piece of digital asset legislation in U.S. history, and the time is now. @Sengiri Brand I’ve been working on this since 2022 and our ideas are well tested. pic.twitter.com/ZsU0sRL3Uy
— Sen. Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) November 4, 2025
Sen. Lummis worked closely with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and emphasized bipartisan partnership. She said their idea, which has been developed and tested since 2022, is now fully ready to become law. This legislation was spurred by a growing wave of support for cryptocurrencies under the Trump administration.
Senator Lummis declares it’s time for cryptography legislation
The U.S. digital asset industry has operated under a cloud of uncertainty for many years. A patchwork of unclear regulations and aggressive legal actions by government agencies has created a difficult environment for innovation and left consumers vulnerable to risk.
The foundation for the current legislative effort was laid in 2021 with the initial introduction of the Responsible Finance Innovation Act by Senators Lummis and Gillibrand. This proposal was refined over several years to create a comprehensive blueprint.
It aims to clearly define what different digital assets are, identify the government agencies that oversee them, and weave cryptocurrencies into the existing structure of federal banking and tax laws. This ongoing work has set the stage for major developments to unfold in 2025.
The pace of legislative action has accelerated this year. In early 2025, House Republicans introduced the Digital Asset Market Transparency Act (also known as the CLARITY Act). This broad framework aims to end confusion over regulatory jurisdiction.
The bill proposes that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversee digital assets that function like securities, and that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulate digital products that operate on mature, decentralized networks. The bill also includes protections for developers of non-custodial financial systems and requires exchanges to comply with anti-money laundering laws.
In a major development, the CLARITY Act passed the House with strong bipartisan support in July. Meanwhile, in the Senate, the Banking Committee, led by Chairman Tim Scott and including Senator Lummis, released its own draft of the Responsible Finance Innovation Act in late July.
The draft law seeks public input on key issues such as investor protection and preventing illicit financing.
Another important piece of legislation, the GENIUS Act, which specifically focuses on stablecoins, has already passed both the Senate and the House of Representatives and was signed into law by US President Donald Trump in July. This new law requires stablecoin issuers to maintain high-quality reserves to back their tokens and gives law enforcement the power to freeze assets.
As of November 2025, the focus is on the Senate, which must reconcile the CLARITY Act with the Banking Committee’s own proposals. The goal is to pass a final unified bill by the end of the year.
Senator Lummis, who currently chairs a new subcommittee dedicated to digital assets, is holding hearings to build consensus. In a major development, a group of Senate Democrats, including Gillibrand, announced a framework in September that emphasizes consumer protection.
Although there have been some delays due to debate over budget issues and how to handle decentralized finance, overall momentum remains strong, with key committees aiming for a final agreement by December.
Trump administration’s efforts to clarify regulations
The current administration has made establishing clear rules regarding cryptocurrencies a top priority, in line with President Trump’s campaign promise to make the United States a central hub for the digital asset industry.
On January 23, an executive order lifted several restrictions imposed by the previous administration and established a new working group focused on digital asset markets.
The group, which included the chairs of the SEC and CFTC, was tasked with providing recommendations to foster the growth of the crypto sector. The recently passed GENIUS Act on Stablecoins is a direct result of this effort. Federal banking regulators have also taken steps to encourage traditional banks to engage in crypto custody and servicing, effectively ending what many in the industry are calling debanking.