New Clarity Act Text Revises DeFi, Credit Union Provisions
New Clarity Act text is reported to revise the bill's decentralized finance and credit union provisions, the two areas that have drawn the most scrutiny as the digital-asset market-structure measure moves through Congress. What can be verified against the official record is the language already on the books: H.
A single source reported on September 10, 2026 that a fresh draft tweaks both the DeFi and credit union sections while the bill’s path through Congress remains murky. That report could not be independently verified for this article, and the new draft itself, its sponsor, and its publication date were not obtained. What follows is grounded in the official House text, not the alleged revisions. For related coverage, see Witkoff Reports $107M in 2025 World Liberty Entity Income.
What the new Clarity Act text changes for DeFi
Decentralized finance, or DeFi, refers to blockchain-based financial services such as trading, lending, and liquidity provision that run through software protocols rather than intermediaries. The existing framework addresses these activities directly rather than leaving them to regulatory interpretation. For related coverage, see Bitcoin Bancorp Buys Bitcoin Depot ATMs for $620,000.
Section 309 of the July 2025 House text proposes exclusions under the Securities Exchange Act for six categories of blockchain and DeFi activity: transaction validation, node or oracle services, data interfaces, protocol distribution, specified liquidity-pool activity, and self-custody software, according to the engrossed House bill text. The precise wording of any September 2026 changes to those categories could not be confirmed.
Critically, Section 309 preserves the SEC’s anti-fraud and anti-manipulation authorities through an explicit exception to its DeFi exclusions, and that same carve-out appeared in the original bill introduced on May 29, 2025. The exclusions, in other words, are not a blanket shield from enforcement. That framing has featured in the broader lobbying effort, including Representative Tom Emmer’s push for the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act.
How the Clarity Act revises credit union provisions
Section 310 of the July 2025 House text expressly includes federal and state credit unions, along with the National Credit Union Administration, in its proposed custody-accounting and capital restrictions, a provision that was already present in the May 2025 original as introduced. Credit unions were named explicitly in both versions, not added later.
The section also retains an exception permitting capital requirements necessary to mitigate operational risks inherent in custody or safekeeping services. This is proposed bill language addressing accounting and capital treatment, not proof of an enacted rule or an authorization to expand crypto services. Because the September 2026 draft was not obtained, whether it alters substantive activity authorization or only the custody-accounting treatment remains an open question.
Legislative status and the questions still open
The verifiable record covers two documents: H.R. 3633 as introduced on May 29, 2025 and as engrossed in the House on July 17, 2025. Both are proposed legislation, not enacted law, and the July text’s House passage does not establish the bill’s status as of September 2026. The debate has drawn a widening cast of stakeholders, from the National Sheriffs’ Association moving to a neutral position to SEC Chair Paul Atkins offering his own update on the measure.
Two questions tied directly to the reported revisions remain unresolved: whether the new DeFi language narrows or widens the six excluded activity categories in Section 309, and whether the credit union changes touch anything beyond the custody-accounting and operational-risk capital treatment already set out in Section 310. Until the actual draft is published, neither can be answered from the official record.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.