The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has formally urged the Senate Banking Committee to vote against the CLARITY Act in its current form, citing the need for “mission-critical revisions” before the bill proceeds. In a letter sent ahead of the committee’s markup hearing scheduled for this Thursday, the lobbying group representing U.S. state securities regulators, along with those in Canada and Mexico, outlined several areas of concern.
NASAA insists on maintaining “regulatory parity” for tokenized assets, specifically preserving state authority over anti-fraud and investigative powers. The group warned that ambiguous language in the bill could be exploited by bad actors, resulting in “enforcement gaps.” Additionally, NASAA demands clear licensing and registration authority over broker-dealers, advisors, and others fundamental to investor protection. They argue that the bill grants overbroad exemptive authority to federal regulators like the SEC and could undermine the federalism framework, leading to “years of costly litigation” unless minor drafting adjustments are made.
Meanwhile, backstage negotiations continue on Capitol Hill. According to journalist Eleanor Terrett, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer met with Democratic senators, expressing willingness to secure a “yes” vote but emphasizing that more progress is needed on ethics discussions. Bipartisan meetings have so far yielded no concrete results, and advisory teams are expected to reconvene after all proposed amendments are submitted by the 5:00 PM Eastern Time deadline. The CLARITY Act, approved by the House in 2025, remains stalled, and opponents may use the markup process to alter the bill’s fragile compromise.
