CoinDesk
BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs and SoFi have publicly endorsed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act over the past week, arguing the bill would finally draw a clean line between SEC and CFTC oversight of digital assets. The endorsements mark one of the strongest coordinated shows of support from traditional finance since the bill was introduced, with firms citing investor protection, regulatory certainty and U.S. competitiveness as the shared rationale.
The push also lays bare a split inside Wall Street. JPMorgan has been working with Coinbase on stablecoin yield provisions and backing changes sought by the banking lobby, which argue current language gives stablecoin issuers an unfair edge over traditional deposits. Coinbase and other crypto firms counter that those tweaks would weaken the bill and slow U.S. innovation, putting asset managers and banks on opposite sides of the same legislation for the first time.
Why it matters
The Clarity Act is the most ambitious attempt yet to define which digital assets the SEC treats as securities and which the CFTC treats as commodities, a question that has hung over every U.S. crypto listing, lending product and ETF filing for the past decade. BlackRock's Samara Cohen called the bill "an important step toward establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets that puts investors first," while Franklin Templeton framed it as the moment "firms would know which regulators they answer to." Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon stopped short of a clean endorsement, calling the bill "not perfect" but backing it as "a level playing field to enhance market stability."
The endorsement cluster matters because it shifts the lobbying math. Crypto-native firms have carried the public case for market structure legislation for years; having five of the largest names in U.S. asset management and banking now echo that case in the same week raises the political cost of letting the bill die in committee.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act?
It is the pending U.S. bill that would split crypto oversight between the SEC and the CFTC, define which digital assets are securities and which are commodities, and give firms a clear regulatory framework for the first time.
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Why is BlackRock backing the Clarity Act?
BlackRock senior managing director Samara Cohen told Politico the bill is "an important step toward establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets that puts investors first" and would help the U.S. "shape the next era of market structure."
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Why is JPMorgan opposing parts of the bill?
JPMorgan is backing changes pushed by the banking lobby that would tighten restrictions on stablecoin yield, arguing current language gives stablecoin issuers an unfair advantage over traditional bank deposits.
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When could the Senate vote on the Clarity Act?
The Senate's summer recess begins August 8, leaving only a handful of legislative days. Majority Leader John Thune has shifted floor time toward judicial nominations and a Russia sanctions package, so the bill could slip to the fall.
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What is the biggest remaining dispute in the bill?
Two provisions remain contested: the stablecoin yield language that pits JPMorgan against Coinbase, and new ethics restrictions for senior government officials with crypto ties, a fight driven by President Trump's digital asset business.
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