Revised CLARITY Act Would Shift DeFi Compliance to Controllers

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Last updated: 

September 11, 2026

A revised version of the CLARITY Act would put regulatory obligations on people or coordinated groups controlling “non-decentralized finance trading protocols.” The revised bill defines a non-decentralized protocol as one whose functionality, operation, or rules can be materially altered by an identifiable person or coordinated group.

Under the framework, the SEC and CFTC would write activity-based rules covering registration, conduct, disclosure, recordkeeping, and supervision. Treasury would then determine how existing Bank Secrecy Act obligations apply to affected controllers.