
CLARITY Act includes $150M fraud fund
- The CLARITY Act would allocate US$150 million to help law enforcement investigate cryptocurrency fraud and digital asset crime.
- The proposal would allow certain suspicious crypto transactions to be frozen and would expand compliance requirements for digital asset firms.
- Supporters say the legislation aims to combine clearer crypto market rules with stronger enforcement tools.
Senator Cynthia Lummis said the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would allocate US$150 million to help law enforcement agencies investigate cryptocurrency fraud and other digital asset crimes.
The proposal comes as lawmakers continue debating crypto regulation in the United States, with supporters arguing that clearer market rules and stronger enforcement mechanisms are needed to address criminal activity.
“CLARITY includes $150 million for law enforcement to track down scammers and bad actors in the digital asset space,” said Senator Cynthia Lummis.
The legislation would allow cryptocurrency exchanges and stablecoin issuers to freeze suspicious transactions for up to 30 days, while law enforcement agencies could seek extensions of up to 180 days through written orders, and digital asset firms would be required to comply with Bank Secrecy Act obligations including Anti-Money Laundering programmes and Suspicious Activity Reports.
Supporters of the bill say the measures would improve the ability of investigators to trace illicit funds and respond to suspected fraud; following the announcement there was no direct share price reaction because the CLARITY Act is proposed legislation rather than a publicly traded company.
The bill also seeks to resolve longstanding disagreements between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission by establishing distinctions between digital commodities and securities and requiring exchanges to separate customer assets from company funds.
Momentum behind the CLARITY Act increased after it advanced from the Senate Banking Committee in a 15-9 vote, while separate legislation introduced earlier this month proposes a dedicated Department of Justice task force to investigate cryptocurrency theft and coordinate enforcement efforts across federal agencies.