CLARITY Act: New Token Category and a Clear Line on Stablecoins

The US Senate is currently deliberating a revised draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act). The bill has evolved from a pure market-structure rule into a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets. Two elements are now in focus in particular: a new token category and a significantly sharper definition of the role of stablecoins.

The current Senate draft introduces two structural changes with far-reaching consequences for the US crypto market:

1. Introduction of “Ancillary Assets”The CLARITY Act establishes, for the first time, a dedicated category for tokens whose value is linked to entrepreneurial efforts or network usage but which are not intended to qualify as classic securities. For these so-called ancillary assets, a separate disclosure regime is envisaged (“Regulation Crypto”), which is more closely aligned with securities law than earlier commodity-based approaches.

The regulatory focus thus shifts away from the simple question of “security or commodity” toward a tiered model that gives greater weight to token distribution, governance and economic incentives.

2. Stablecoins as payment infrastructureThe bill explicitly defines stablecoins as payment stablecoins. Particularly contentious is the planned ban on so-called passive yields. Interest or income earned solely from holding a stablecoin would be impermissible. Only activity-based compensation would remain allowed, for example in connection with transactions, settlement or validation.

Stablecoins are thereby clearly positioned as payment and settlement infrastructure rather than as an investment product. The approach aims to draw a dividing line from classic bank deposits.

• The CLARITY Act assesses projects not by the label “centralized” or “decentralized,” but by control and custody of user funds.
• Developers and self-custody users are to be explicitly protected, provided they exercise no control over assets.
• The bill contains anti-CBDC provisions and restricts the direct issuance of a central bank digital currency to citizens.

The final outcome remains open. According to media reports, parts of the industry are reviewing their support, particularly because of the planned restrictions on stablecoin reward models.