The CLARITY Act explained: Enterprise and IT impacts

What is the CLARITY Act?

The Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act of 2025 (H.R.3633) is proposed U.S. federal legislation intended to provide clear regulatory standards for digital assets and markets. This includes defining how different types of digital assets are regulated and clarifying roles for regulators such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Defining the roles of the SEC and CFTC is one of the central purposes of the CLARITY Act. Right now, digital assets can fall into a gray area; are they securities or commodities? If they are securities, then the SEC has jurisdiction. If commodities or derivatives, then the CFTC takes over. Right now, many digital assets don't clearly fall into one category.

This is exactly what U.S. needed, said Chris Kline, COO and co-founder of BitCoinIRA.

"Right now, there's a lot of development happening outside the U.S. because of uncertainty around regulation, and this flips that script by saying, 'Hey, here's the rules. Follow them.' You can build something great, and I think it's going to really spark a lot more innovation and growth and development in this space," he said

"The SEC had been essentially regulating by enforcement," said Marissa Scicchitano, a principal in digital assets & blockchain at Wolf and Company, an accounting and advisory firm. "They would have a situation, and come in and regulate that specific situation. But there were no specific rules that were written in advance in order for those companies to play by, so this would create some rules for companies."

Why IT leaders should pay attention

It's easy to dismiss the CLARITY Act as just more cryptocurrency nonsense, but that would be a mistake. There are many reasons why IT leaders should keep an eye on this act and its potential effect.

Yaya Fanusie, global head of policy at Aleo, a Layer 1 blockchain provider for global policy engagement, said IT leaders should pay attention to this law because it provides clarity on what a token is and how it can be used, raised, issued and support a startup project or a business enterprise.

"If there's no regulatory clarity, you can't do the stuff you say you want to do with this token," Fanusie said. "I think it means that there's going to be an easier way for you to do new models for your business, for your operations. It's going to allow for some other business models that involve crypto."

For years, the lack of a unified regulatory framework has created legal uncertainty, slowing the adoption and participation of traditional financial institutions. Once the act passes, it will end that ambiguity, so organizations will no longer need to take a wait-and-see posture.

"There are so many people in traditional finance and crypto working on new innovations, new financialization tools. I think that's going to open the gateways that are needed for those tools to come to light and fruition," Kline said.

Enterprise use cases affected

Scicchitano believes the law will accelerate and expand blockchain adoption beyond where it is now because it gives businesses a rule book to play by.

"Companies will feel more comfortable entering into the space when they know what the rules are," Scicchitano said.

Potential new use cases include the following:

• Tokenized assets and payments.
• Blockchain-based supply chain tracking.
• Digital identity and credentialing.
• Smart contracts and automation platforms.
• Data provenance and auditability.

Fanusie thinks new use cases will emerge from the supply chain. You could use a token to pay the suppliers in your enterprise supply chain, and since tokens can be programmed, you can assess the movement of your product across several different stages, from warehouse to transport to retail, because a blockchain allows you to see visibility in a transaction.

"You can build a blockchain-based supply chain that uses a cryptocurrency token that could facilitate the movement of your supply chain. Then you have something that you didn't have before you have visibility into your supply chain in real time, 24/7, because of a blockchain-based system," he said.

Risk, security and compliance implications

The addition of regulatory certainty to cryptocurrency means that the rules for risk, security and compliance have not gone away -- they have changed. Reduced regulatory uncertainty doesn't necessarily mean reduced risk.

Because CLARITY increases compliance, it will require compliance and data governance frameworks, said Scicchitano.

"When it establishes the CFTC as sort of the primary regulator for digital asset commodities, it's going to require centralized platforms such as exchangers and brokers to register with the CFTC," Scicchitano said. "So IT certainly will need to enhance this level of regulatory compliance -- specifically with [the Bank Secrecy Act], [Know Your Client], [Anti-Money Laundering] -- up to the level of standard that the banking industry has to abide by."

CIOs are still responsible for cybersecurity, privacy and operational resilience, and new compliance requirements may emerge as rules solidify. And as the rules emerge, use will expand into new fields and new processes.

"There are blockchain initiatives in finance, accounting, legal. All kinds of departments can benefit from blockchain adoption and being able to know that what chain you're using and for what purpose fits within the regulatory guidelines," Kline said.

Strategic questions to ask now

Whether you have a digital asset or blockchain strategy or are merely considering one, there are multiple questions to ask yourself and your staff, starting with: Do you even have a digital asset strategy, or just test projects?

As you move through your organization, you need to check all your business connections -- including suppliers, vendors and customers -- to see if they have a similar strategy. Then you must look at your own environment and your customers -- and ask whether you are prepared for a regulated digital asset environment.

An enterprise that's considering getting involved in cryptocurrency must ask, 'Does this fit in my roadmap, and what's my time horizon look like?' Bitcoin is still a relatively new technology and has experienced significant volatility. Does your business have the stomach to withstand that volatility?

CIOs should review existing blockchain initiatives, engage compliance teams early and reassess long-term digital asset strategy in light of emerging regulatory clarity.

Another important part is just building out your internal control structure, said Scicchitano.

"So, if you do adopt digital assets or start transacting in digital assets, make sure you have an internal control structure set up where you have proper review, authorization and approvals," Scicchitano said.

Andy Patrizio is a technology journalist with almost 30 years' experience covering Silicon Valley who has worked for a variety of publications on staff or as a freelancer, including Network World, InfoWorld, Business Insider, Ars Technica and InformationWeek. He is currently based in Southern California.