Senate Republicans have released an updated version of the CLARITY Act reflecting changes negotiated during the August recess, according to a Wu Blockchain report citing crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett. The revision would require decentralized-finance protocols that are not decentralized to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. That requirement aligns with Section 10301 of the Senate Banking Committee’s version.
The reported changes place the CFTC at the center of one part of the revised framework. They arrive alongside a broader debate over how U.S. crypto market-structure rules may develop, a subject also addressed in BTC-Pulse’s report, CFTC Chair: Crypto Market Structure Rules Will Come Regardless of Clarity Act Outcome. The update does not mean every part of the proposal changed: the ethics, BRCA and stablecoin-yield provisions appear to remain unchanged.
A registration line for non-decentralized DeFi
The registration requirement draws a distinction within DeFi rather than treating every protocol identically. As reported, the obligation applies to protocols that are not decentralized. The available report does not provide a broader definition or list the operational tests that would determine where a particular protocol falls. That makes the reported distinction important while leaving implementation details outside the source’s account. The CFTC’s role in crypto disputes is also visible in a separate matter covered by BTC-Pulse, CFTC Seeks Dismissal of CME Crypto Perpetuals Lawsuit.
DeFi language is limited to spot transactions
Another key revision limits the DeFi provisions to spot or cash transactions in digital commodities. The report says this appears aimed at addressing tribal concerns involving blockchain-based prediction markets. In practical terms, the wording described by the source narrows the transaction category covered by those DeFi provisions; it does not establish in the report how every product or venue would be classified. Other requests concerning the CFTC’s perimeter include the case described in HPC, trade[XYZ] Ask CFTC to Permit U.S. Energy Perpetuals.
Credit-union authority receives further clarification
The updated text also further clarifies the authority of credit unions to participate in crypto-related activities. The source does not specify additional operational conditions, so the reported change is best understood as a clarification within the revised proposal rather than evidence of a new activity already underway. Together, the three highlighted revisions address registration for non-decentralized DeFi, the transaction scope of the DeFi provisions and credit unions’ authority, while the cited ethics, BRCA and stablecoin-yield provisions appear unchanged.
The latest version remains a legislative proposal described through the reported revisions. Its significance lies in how Senate Republicans have adjusted the draft after August negotiations: a CFTC registration requirement for a defined part of DeFi, a spot-or-cash limitation for the relevant provisions and more explicit treatment of credit unions. Further legislative action and fuller text will determine how those distinctions ultimately operate.
