Key Facts

• The collapse of FTX nearly four years ago highlighted the lack of a workable regulatory regime in the US, leaving regulators, bankruptcy courts, and enforcement agencies to sort through the wreckage, with customers paying the price.
• The Clarity Act would establish clear federal rules for centralized platforms, brokers, dealers, and custodians, covering registration, supervision, disclosure, custody, segregation, market integrity, conflicts of interest, fraud prevention, and bankruptcy.
• Digital asset intermediaries would be required to register, meet capital and risk-management standards, keep records, disclose material information to retail customers, monitor markets, address conflicts of interest, and follow conduct rules covering fraud, manipulation, marketing, supervision, and fair pricing.
• The Act would create customer asset protection requirements for registered digital asset intermediaries, including custody standards, segregation requirements, limits on misuse of customer property, and clearer treatment of customer assets in insolvency.
• The Clarity Act would require plain-language disclosures about technology, governance, trading activity, volatility, incentives, conflicts of interest, and other material risks, enabling consumers to make informed decisions before putting their money at risk.