119-HR-3633 Journalist Public Summary

Public Summary — H.R. 3633: Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 / Anti‑CBDC Surveillance State Act

Headline Summary: A bipartisan House‑passed bill to set national crypto trading rules, divide oversight between the CFTC and SEC, and prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central‑bank digital currency (CBDC).

What It Does: The bill creates a federal framework for “digital commodities.” It defines key terms, lets the SEC set disclosure rules for token sales while clarifying many secondary token trades are not securities deals, and tasks the CFTC with registering and policing cash/spot crypto exchanges, brokers, and dealers with customer‑asset, custody, and anti‑manipulation protections. It applies Bank Secrecy Act (anti‑money‑laundering) obligations to registered crypto intermediaries, standardizes when a blockchain is “mature” and decentralized, and preempts state securities registration for digital commodities. It affirms individuals’ right to self‑custody wallets and peer‑to‑peer transactions, allows ATSs (alternative trading systems) to list both securities and digital commodities, modernizes recordkeeping, and directs multiple studies and public‑education efforts. Separately, the Anti‑CBDC title bars the Fed from testing, issuing, or using a CBDC for monetary policy.

• Supporters: Lawmakers in both parties who favored a uniform, innovation‑minded framework (the House passed it 294–134 on July 17, 2025).
• Reasons they give: clearer rules of the road; federal consumer safeguards (segregated custody, qualified custodians, market‑surveillance); AML coverage for registered entities; space for open‑source/decentralized tech; and privacy protections via the CBDC prohibition.

• Opponents: Lawmakers who voted no and critics concerned with investor and monetary‑policy risks.
• Reasons they raise: that carving out some decentralized‑finance activities (beyond anti‑fraud) could hamper oversight; preempting parts of state securities law might weaken protections; expanding CFTC spot‑market duties could strain resources; clarifying secondary sales could complicate SEC enforcement against risky offerings; and the CBDC ban could limit the Fed’s ability to research future payment options.

What’s Next: After House passage (July 17, 2025), the bill reached the Senate on September 18, 2025. On May 14, 2026, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee ordered it reported favorably with a substitute amendment. The next step is potential floor consideration in the full Senate. If amended and passed, any House–Senate differences would need to be reconciled before the bill could go to the President.