The US Senate has moved the review of the Market Structure Bill, known as the Clarity Act, to early next year after the House passed it in July. While committee consideration stalled, the act would clarify criteria to classify crypto assets as securities or digital commodities, sharpening the market’s decisive edge. As regulatory visibility grows, it strengthens prospects for regulated stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization while potentially pressuring centralized altcoins.
The debate centers on jurisdiction between the SEC and CFTC, with lawmakers noting that narrowing SEC authority could affect investor protection. With the 2024 elections approaching, Republican lawmakers are pushing for faster passage, making an early approval of the Clarity Act more likely. The core concept is to distinguish crypto as securities from those treated as commodities under lighter CFTC rules, depending on decentralization and governance features.
Assets that meet decentralized governance, non-central control, and verifiable technical standards are expected to be treated as digital commodities, while assets under centralized control would face SEC oversight. Bitcoin and Ethereum, given their high decentralization, are likely to be treated as non-securities. Ultimately, the act frames regulation as a gateway linking crypto to traditional finance, prompting investors to evaluate regulatory fit and sustainable business models rather than pure price moves.
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